


Flying High

by Holyshihtzu



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, pilot AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-02-10 12:01:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 51,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12911520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holyshihtzu/pseuds/Holyshihtzu
Summary: Nicole loves flying. Growing up, she knew she always wanted to be a pilot for a major airline.After having a bad experience on a plane as a child, Waverly knows she hates flying. She's now heading to New York to interview for a PhD position at Columbia as a passenger on a plane Nicole is flying.Maybe Waverly doesn't hate flying so much after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Literally my first fanfic. The idea kept coming to me and I wanted to avoid some homework. 
> 
> Characters aren't mine but any mistakes def are.
> 
> Happy reading! Hopefully it is not the worst!

Nicole always loved flying.

As a little girl, her mom would take her out to the airport to watch the planes come and go. They would sit for hours talking about the adventures people were going on and coming back from. Nicole would sit and watch in awe as the ginormous metal crafts made their ascent, taking complete strangers off on journeys to faraway places. During one of these outings, the young redhead promised herself that she would do whatever it took to be the person flying that plane one day.

__________

 

Waverly had always hated flying.

At the age of 9, her flight home to Calgary from a blissful trip to Disneyland had to be diverted due to engine trouble. By the time the plane landed, there was smoke emitting from a wing, emergency crews surrounding the plane, employees hurrying passengers off, and a terrified little girl wearing Mickey ears clutching her Uncle Curtis’s leg for dear life. As an adult, practicality and common sense taught her to not trust something you were not in control of, and nerves and apprehension, combined with her one previous experience on an airplane, solidified her dislike of the activity. She had, of course, seen statistics proving that flight was the safest method of travel, but it did nothing to soothe her discomfort of her current circumstance.

Stepping out of the cab of her aunt’s truck, which her sister had borrowed to drop her off in, she looked up at a nearby a giant tube catapulting unsuspecting people to god knows where, and internal panic rose almost immediately in her chest.

“Are you sure this is fine?” She said as she met her sister walking to the bed of the old Ford to grab her suitcases.

“Baby girl, I have flown plenty. It’s not terrible. I mean, it’s not great, don’t get me wrong... The plane sometimes smells like farts, the air is musty and stale, and heaven help you if there is a baby on board… but I am sure it’ll be fine. Plus – just concentrate on the fact that you will be in New York when you land!”

“Don’t remind me. I am still not sure what is worse, having to get in that metal death trap to fly thousands of miles to a foreign land, or presenting my research proposal to the recruitment panel at Columbia. I mean, I hope I get in of course, but what if I get in?” Her anxiety grew with every passing sentence, causing her already dramatic hand gestures to grow exponentially and her voice to speed up to an almost incomprehensible babble. “Wynonna, I’ve never left Calgary for longer than a few days before. I don’t know what I’ll do. It’s such a big place and so there are so many people there and I am so small, and yeah, my Krav Maga instructor says I am doing great but --”

“--Hold up, crazy pants! Let’s breathe for a moment. You are going to do great! Your plane ride is going to fly by – HA, I punned! Did not mean to… unintended pun high five, Baby Girl.” She said as she held up her hand, which was only met by the shorter brunette to appease her older sister. “Anywho, I PROMISE you will do great. You will get there just fine. Your presentation is going to be amazing - I know because you made me listen to it a million times. If there is one person on the planet that deserves this, it is you. The universe is looking out for you, I know it. Now get out of here nerd, before you miss your flight!”

The sisters embraced before the older one got back in the truck, blew a kiss and started to drive off as Waverly stepped through the sliding glass doors of the airport.

After checking her bags and going through security, she headed for her gate. Sitting down next to the walkway of the concourse, she noticed her plane was already there and crews were walking around below it, likely prepping it for their departure. She eyed the plane suspiciously as she reached into her bag and rummaged through until she found the book she was looking for, before settling down to read to pass the time until it was time to board.

“Excuse me. I think you may have dropped something.” Startled, the young brunette looked up to see a dimpled stranger with fiery red hear wearing a crisp black and white uniform, looking down at her.

Dumbstruck, Waverly just stared while the redhead crouched to pick up an opened notebook near her bag. “Is this yours? It looks important – something about the Latin language, the Roman empire, and its ties to current civilization.” She said as she squinted to make out the writing, before closing the book.

There was a long pause before the pilot spoke again. “Um… hello?” The redhead questioned as the small woman was still staring up at her. She paused before continuing, “Oh maybe you are Deaf, that is rude of me... Why didn’t I think of that?”

Finally snapping into reality, Waverly reached forward and grabbed the book and hurried to assemble some thoughts. “Thank you so much! These are important notes for a presentation I have tomorrow! I would have died if I lost these!”

“Glad I saw them, then! Do you mind me asking what your presentation is for?”

“Oh no, of course not. I am interviewing at Columbia for their history PhD program. These notes are 60% of my presentation tomorrow. I can’t believe I almost lost them… How can I make it up to you for finding them for me? Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

“As lovely as that sounds, I really should be going. I have a plane to catch,” she said with a wink.

“Silly me. Of course, I knew that. Well, thank you – I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“Nicole. Nicole Haught. And yours?”

“Waverly Earp.” Standing up and reaching forward to extend her hand, she noticed that the pilot’s eyes were the most reassuring thing she had seen all day; they were a gorgeous brown that accentuated her red hair perfectly. When the handshake ended, Waverly noticed a sense of loss at the broken contact. Almost as if she was losing a part of herself at the ended exchange. Unsure as to why, she dropped her hand awkwardly and furrowed her brow, before realizing the gorgeous pilot was still watching her. “Where are you flying to?” She asked with a hopeful lilt to her voice, hoping to prolong their connection for as long as possible.

“Today has me going to New York, then Vancouver, followed by LAX. But definitely JFK first.” She smiled a perfectly dimpled specifically at the shorter woman as she leaned down to grab her black leather Pilot’s carryon.

“Hey! I am going to JFK! Seems you are my captain! Well not my captain, but the captain of the plane I am about to board, along with these fine people.” Gesturing awkwardly at the travelers sitting around her, she ducked her head and hoped she had sufficiently covered up her awkward fumble.

With a smirk, the redhead waited until the brunette looked up again before responding. “I am more than honored to be your captain today, Waverly. I will see you in there, yeah?”

“Yep a doodle!”

“Okay! Glad to hear it! It was a pleasure meeting you.” And with that headed down towards the jetway to board the plane.

Sitting back down, Waverly had a chance to gather her thoughts. _'Yep a doodle?’ Really? Way to play it cool, Waverly. And why was I sad when we finished that handshake? What was that about? It was just a handshake with a stranger._ Her mind was racing as she picked up her book to continue reading. She sat there rereading the same paragraph a few times before realizing her train of thought was derailed, so she closed the book and opted to pull out her phone to check Instagram instead.

Typing in the search bar “Nicole Haught” she decided to do a little research on the pilot who was about to take her thousands of miles on the plane ride she suddenly wasn’t so worried about.


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping down the jetway Nicole smiled at the thought of the pretty girl she had just met. She was smart, caring, and passionate, three things the redhead definitely appreciated in others around her.  
  
Being a pilot gave her the opportunity to go many places and meet a lot of people, but the schedule lacked a routine and the stability that so far had been hard to facilitate many meaningful relationships. Her last long term relationship had been with a med student right before she started flight school. She had just recently finished her undergrad and was spending all of her free time rock climbing and hiking when she bumped into Shae, literally and figuratively, and they hit it off immediately. Shae was tall, smart, funny, pretty, shared many common interests, and was great in bed. They had fun while it lasted. Shae’s graduation from medical school and Nicole starting her first commercial airline job ended their relationship quickly, but the pair remained good friends and would check in with each other monthly.

Nicole had tried dating others since then, but hadn't put much effort towards it. She found comfort in her career and in the mean time, flirting, and occasionally sleeping with flight attendants was going to have to suffice until she could find someone who could handle her uneven schedule.  
  
Thinking back to Waverly, the flustered but adorable brunette who was way out of her league, brought a smile as she stepped onto the plane.  
  
_Interviewing for PhD’s? How attractive is that? Maybe I should’ve flirted. Why didn’t I flirt?_  

With a sigh, she packed away her luggage, including her purse, in the flight deck, and started her preflight inspection.

 

__________

 

Waverly liked what she saw. Being research minded was important for a potential PhD candidate, and that now included finding out about a certain tall captain with dimples who was about to fly her thousands of miles to another country. The research was also helped by the fact that the airline captain was an insanely attractive redhead, who didn’t look half bad in her black and white uniform with stripes on the shoulders.

 _This isn’t weird, I’m just practicing my researching skills,_  she internally assured herself as she scrolled. There were many pictures on Nicole’s Instagram, each detailing an adventurous life. There was one of Nicole earlier in the year proudly announcing her recent promotion while wearing her captain’s stripes, her rock climbing in Yosemite, skydiving in Hawaii, flashing her stupidly perfect dimpled smile while holding two small children on each shoulder who were giving her bunny ears, a picture of an angry looking orange cat in an Amazon box next to a Christmas tree, one of Nicole in front of a little Cessna, and one from a few years ago of her kissing the cheek of a tall gorgeous brunette holding a medical school diploma. While closely inspecting the last picture, Waverly tried zooming in to assess the situation going on between the pilot and ‘Dr. Hottie.’ Unfortunately, as she went to pinch the picture to zoom, she accidentally hit the heart button on the several year-old picture with her thumb and immediately panicked, dropping her phone.

_Holy crap on a cracker, Waverly. What did you do? You know the rules. You can’t like old posts. Fix this now. But how? Delete your social medias. You don’t need them. You’ve always talked about doing a social media cleanse, now’s the time. If you could give up meat, you can give up Facebook. Do you really need to see Stephanie’s three kids making Gingerbread houses? No. Sure, it’s nice being able to see how things are going at Shorty’s. And yeah, Snapchat is the only way you get to see pictures of Gus now that she’s in Florida… Dang it._

Taking a deep breath Waverly picked up her phone unliked the picture and hoped to high heaven that if Nicole saw her notification she’d find it endearing.

 

__________

 

Unbeknownst to a now panicking for a completely different reason Waverly Earp, Nicole’s phone was stowed safely away in her purse as she finished inspecting the plane and waited for passengers to begin boarding. She would be flying this flight with one of the few other female pilots at the airline, Rosie. They got along well, both sharing a love of cats, beer, and the Raptors. It was nice having someone easy to relate to, as long flights with stiff, older men who were bitter they had to take directions from the young, female captain were not Nicole’s favorite flights. She could usually make conversation with anyone, or appreciate the silence when she couldn’t find common ground for conversation, but the flights with people she knew well, and got along with, were her favorite.  
  
After assuring things were a go, she settled in to her seat.  
  
Nicole turned to face her copilot. “Long time no see. How’s the hubby?”  
  
“Eh, he’s the same. Constantly complaining about the schedule but actually adorably supportive at the same time. What about you? Any special ladies on your radar?” She finished with a wink.  
  
Nicole smiled at the thought of her recent interaction with the smart and beautiful PhD interviewee, but quickly cleared her mind, guarded her expression, and scoffed. “We’ve talked about this, you know CJ is the only one for me. She understands the schedule, she’s not too needy, and she’s pretty cute. What more could I need?”  
  
“Rigggghhhttt. Because I believe that, Haught. I see the way you occasionally flirt with the flight attendants. You’re waiting for someone. You’re just too chicken to put yourself out there.”  
  
“I. AM. NOT.” She turned away with a huff but glanced back over after a second only to find a raised eyebrow staring at her.  
  
Rosie’s comment hit close to home, Nicole had settled into a rut. She worked hard to get her dream job, often at the expense of her personal relationships. Most understood, but in the beginning, she told herself that she had put dating on hold as to not burden someone with the responsibility of waiting for her hectic schedule, when she didn’t know what it would be herself. But, if she was truly honest with herself, things were much more stable now that she had a little more seniority. She even had more say in the routes she took.  
  
With a long pause, Nicole sighed. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. Maybe when I meet the right person. But it hasn’t happened so for now, stop pressuring me. I promise you, one of these days I will have someone to report back to you about… But don’t think CJ isn’t going to be pissed at you for replacing her. Now let’s get these people to New York.” With that she checked with the cabin crew to ensure all the passengers were boarded, radioed out to the tower to indicate they were ready to depart, and waited.  
  
‘Right person’ kept replaying over and over in her mind. _What does that even mean? How will I even know?_    
  
Becoming overwhelmed at the thought of her own words, she decided the best course of action would be to push it down for now. With a deep breath, Nicole cleared her mind, backed away from the gate, and immediately thought of Waverly Earp.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kind words on the last chapter! I forgot how much I missed writing. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter is filler, but I am in the middle of taking five finals and don't have time to get it where I want to be. Hopefully something is better than nothing!


	3. Chapter 3

Completely ignoring the fact that she was now thousands of feet in the air traveling at hundreds of miles per hour to possibly the most important interview of her life, Waverly found herself worrying about the social media blunder the entire flight. She knew upon landing (thanks to her extensive research about the flying process that she had conducted while trying to assuage her fears) the Captain would be standing outside the cockpit thanking the passengers and she would be forced to walk right past her. Waverly was torn because she sensed that there was something special about Nicole and she wanted to know her better. But what if she had seen Waverly’s Instagram like on her phone? Would Nicole think she was weird? She decided the best course of action would be to try and quickly walk past her, hoping to go unnoticed, and pretend they had never met. Waverly had plenty of people in her life that meant a great deal to her, and although she couldn’t get Nicole out of her mind, this chance meeting with her probably meant nothing. 

The flight went by smoothly. After determining her plan of action, she picked up her book and began reading while quietly eating her pretzels.

Time passed quickly, much quicker than she even realized for a woman that had been panicking about flight a few hours before, and she put away her book after handing her trash to the flight attendant who was readying the plane for landing.   

Unfortunately for herself, her seat was in the absolute back of the airplane so she would be the last one off, which would most likely leave plenty of time to see the redhead she was now determined to avoid, but Waverly had a plan. She was nothing if not a planner, and she was going to execute this smoothly. Standing up and putting her her headphones in, she turned up her music, grabbed her carry on and walked right by the redhead tossing her signature smile and a wave as to not seem rude, completely missing the fact that the redhead had just opened her mouth to talk to her.

 

__________

 

_Well that was anticlimactic._ After spending the whole flight envisioning their meet cute story being this plane ride, she had decided that she needed to make a move and ask for Waverly’s number. That plan was not executed as she was almost completely ignored by the tiny brunette. Nicole was brought back to reality while thinking about the failed interaction and remembered that she had to get to her next flight as soon as possible, as all of her flights were booked fairly close together today. 

She headed back to the cockpit to say goodbye to Rosie, pulled out her phone, grabbed her bags and took off to get to her next plane. Looking down at her phone as she made her way through JFK she noticed a notification from someone she hadn’t seen before. 

 

> _Littlewearp has liked your post._

 

Finding it odd since she hadn’t posted in awhile, Nicole opened the app and found that no one had indeed actually liked her post. Typing _littlewearp_ in the search bar, Nicole found the gorgeous PhD candidate staring back at her. Trying to capitalize on the confidence she always gained from a perfect flight (and which she was going to use to try and ask Waverly for her number before the young woman had taken off) she shot a message off before she lost her nerve. Turning off her phone and getting ready for the long flight to Vancouver, the pilot smiled at the thought of the young brunette Instastalking her. 

_Obviously, she’s got to be a little interested if she accidentally liked one of my posts._

 

__________

 

Littlewearp had safely made it to her hotel room and checked in. She had spent the entire ride staring at the expansive skyline and talking to her cab driver about his life, where to go in the city, and he had even given tips as to what to do to avoid being swindled.

Now laying on the bed chatting with her sister, she just had her interview tomorrow morning before was free for the next few days to explore the giant city before her.

_“Are you nervous, Baby Girl?”_

“No, not really. Honestly, I couldn’t have prepared any more than I did. And what’s supposed to happen will end up happening. I just wish it could be over so I could go enjoy the city though, it’s beautiful here.”

_“It is, make sure you go to get a cookie from Schmackary's. It’s near the theater district, so if you end up seeing a play like you wanted it’s right by there. Also, get a shawarma from pretty much any street vendor. Sketchy as fuck but oh so good. Just trust me on that one.”_

“Good to know. I guess it’s good you traveled so much when I was finishing my undergrad, you’re like my own personal travel guide now.”

_“I know, I really wanted to come show you around. I tried super hard to get the time off but just couldn’t make it work. Dolls said the case we are working on is ‘too important, Earp so stop trying to trick me into giving you the time off.’ I think he wouldn’t give it to me because he would miss me though, even if he wouldn’t admit it... But how did the plane ride go? I know you were freaking out.”_

“Really good, actually! I met this hot pilot and she kind of made it all okay,” she said while smiling as she spoke. 

_“Well now you’re starting to sound like me - needing a hot pilot to make everything okay. And here I was trying to calm you down by going the logical route, since that’s usually your jam. Did you get her number?”_

“No, I kinda accidentally liked one of her posts while investigating her social media and then I panicked and ran off the flight before I could talk to her again.” 

_“Yep, that sounds more like you. Good to know you’re still the same Waverly.”_  

“Shut it. It wasn’t a proud moment.” Burying her head in a pillow she thought back to the earth shatteringly adorable dimples of the redheaded pilot and groaned.

_“Sounds like it. Well, go find someone in the city. There’s plenty of people out there looking for love, or sex, or whatever the hell you’re looking for. Isn’t that what Tinder is for?”_  

“I’m looking to get into grad school. That’s it.” 

_“Sure, sure. That’s all you’re looking for, exactly why this hot pilot is definitely NOT on your mind right now.”_  

“Okay, we are done for today! Love you Nonna! I will call you tomorrow after my interview.”

_“You better, Waves. I love you. Go get some!”_

Hanging up, she looked down at her screen and was shocked to see an Instagram notification from the very woman she had just been talking about. 

 

> _Aerohaughtics has sent you a message._  

> _Hey Littlewearp (which is an ADORABLE handle by the way), I take the fact that I had a notification about you as a good indicator this message was okay to send. I enjoyed meeting you today, not all of my passengers are as kind as you. Just wondering if you thought the flight went okay? I’m on my way to YVR rn so if you don’t get a response for a while, blame the friendly skies. Talk to you later... hopefully!_  

Smiling, Waverly began to type out her reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, commenting and liking. You all are seriously great!


	4. Chapter 4

 

> _Nicole! I am so sorry about that notification. I kinda maybe wanted to research you because:_
> 
> _1) I was terrified to fly today._
> 
> _2) I maybe wanted to get to know you a little better since you couldn’t go to coffee with me._
> 
> _And 3) I think you’re maybe kinda really cute._
> 
> _Well, that is the most forward I have ever been. Going to go crawl in a hole in Central Park right now. Have a safe flight, Aerohaughtics. ;) (Which is the best username, by the way.)_

Putting down her phone Waverly’s heart was racing. An attractive pilot that she barely knew set her heart aflutter and she needed to process. Knowing that she needed to destress before her big morning tomorrow, she opted to go use the daylight she had left togo explore. She knew her hotel was close to Central Park, and although she was (mostly) joking about hiding to Nicole, she thought the park would be a perfect place for her first adventure. Setting her GPS to direct her to the park, Waverly left her cozy hotel room and began the short journey to the greenery of the city.

It was just as the movies had depicted Manhattan: quaint, packed with gorgeous architecture, people in suits walking around amongst the busy skyscrapers; Waverly was enthralled to be out of Calgary and exploring a foreign city. She had an adventurous spirit, but lacked the resources to get out much before now. She had focused on history in her studies as a means to explore the world throughout multiple time periods. It allowed her the option go live others experiences through texts, art, and stories. She was grateful that she enjoyed it and it came to her naturally. She was excited to get to express her passion for it during her interview and presentation to the committee tomorrow and she hoped she could do justice to how much love she actually had for the subject.

She stopped as she got to the entrance of the park, enamored with the contrast of the greenery amongst the towering skyline. Entering the park, she found many people going casually about their day, as if this wasn’t a completely new experience for them like it was for her. She also found those that were reveling in the experience of the expansive park, and she took comfort that she wasn’t the only one out of her element. Although originally worried that she would be a small person in a sea of people, she found that she quite enjoyed herself and felt a sense of calm walking through the park.

__________

Nicole couldn’t wait to land. Flights longer than a few hours were nice because they paid well, but torture while waiting for a response from a cute girl thousands of miles away. The flight was another smooth one and she had a twelve hour break before her last flight for the next few days. Her morning flight was not putting her anywhere near home, so technically she had one more ride as a passenger until she could cuddle up with her cat again, but she was confident Jeremy was taking good care of CJ in the meantime. Sitting down in the shuttle to the hotel, she finally gave into reading the message from the short brunette who had piqued her interest.

 She was taken aback that Waverly was scared of flight. A foreign concept to Nicole, she couldn’t imagine a fear of flying, especially with how calm Waverly seemed before her flight in Calgary. Not only was she startled at the flight revelation, she definitely was pleasantly surprised at the flirtatious message. Her heart fluttered at the thought of someone so smart and gorgeous being mutually attracted to her. She thought carefully before replying, making sure she kept her confident persona but wanting Waverly to know she was definitely interested.

 

> __1) You were terrified to fly????? I never would have guessed. I. LOVE. flying…. Which is probably obvious because of my choice in career… But I can’t believe you don’t love it. Any particular reason why?_ _
> 
> _2) I REALLY wanted to go get coffee with you. Can we have a raincheck on that?_
> 
> _3) I think you’re maybe kinda really cute too. Like the cutest._
> 
> _Anyway…. Hahaha thanks. My friends thought my username needed to be flight-centric and include a pun because EVERYONE likes to turn my last name into a pun. There was a brainstorming session over some beers one night. My friend Jeremy came up with Cominginhaught but I decided that sounded way too dirty for my tastes, so I went with aerohaughtics. But enough about me. How is New York treating you? And when is your presentation?_

Satisfied with her response, she put her phone away right as the shuttle pulled up to the hotel she would be spending the night in. She had a routine down by now: check in, change clothes, 90 minutes of gym time or some laps in the pool to work off her energy, shower, walk to the nearest restaurant or have something delivered, and finally settle in for a romantic comedy before going to bed. She had gained a few hours but the day had felt so long. She was sure she would be skipping the romcom tonight so she could be fully rested and back at the airport for her 6:30 am flight.

__________

Now safely tucked in bed with the latest episode of _Love It or List It_ playing in the background on the hotel room television, Waverly reread the message for a third time. She read it while walking back to her hotel room after a quiet afternoon strolling Central Park. In her intense focus of the message, she had actually walked a block past her hotel and had only come to the realization of her mistake after an embarrassing collision with a stranger. Rereading it for a second time in the elevator hadn’t been any better. Lost in her train of thought, she had almost followed a gentleman wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase who had been talking animatedly on the phone about stock options into his hotel room. Waverly had just barely looked up and realized she was heading into the wrong room right before the encounter would’ve become awkward. The third read-through was just as exciting, without the added danger or embarrassment of the first two. She couldn’t believe Nicole thought she was attractive too. Adventurous, successful, attractive Nicole thought Waverly was “really cute.” And Nicole was thoughtful too, as Waverly had to stop and think back to how she knew about her presentation before she remembered their initial interaction. Mentally high fiving herself for her initial blunder that led to this short string of messages, Waverly decided she would continue her forward streak with her response.

 

> _Yeah, I had a bad experience as a kid on a plane once. On my one and only flight (before today) while coming back from Disneyland as a child, my plane had engine trouble. We ended up getting diverted, emergency crews were called, and we had to be evacuated off of the plane. It was terrifying and I haven’t been a fan since. Meeting you today helped a lot with that worry, though!!_
> 
> _New York is AMAZING! Thank you for asking! I walked the park this afternoon. I debated renting a bike to explore, but thought walking would be nice as I had plenty of time to fill. The walk was quite relaxing actually. Have you ever been here? Do you have any recommendations as to what I should do or try? My presentation is tomorrow but I have two days to explore alone before I head home._
> 
> _And everyone turns Haught into a pun then? Guess I won’t add you to my phone as HaughtPants like originally intended… Bummer._
> 
> _Oh… and before I forget. NotHaughtPants, can I get your number? :)_

Closing Instagram and then setting an alarm on her phone for the morning, she contentedly sighed as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for your kind words and kudos! They make my day! 
> 
> If I don't post again before then, Happy Holidays!


	5. Chapter 5

Nicole was flying high. Not literally, though. Actually, at this exact moment she currently was sitting in LAX waiting for the plane that would take her home to Toronto. She had been flying almost nonstop for the last two weeks, working her regular schedule and picking up a couple shifts from a friend and she was exhausted. The thought of climbing in bed with CJ had been her only beacon of hope until she met Waverly Earp, whom she was now in an almost constant text string with. 

Having blushed considerably before giving the brunette her number upon waking up at 4 a.m., which she had done in order to have enough time to hit the hotel gym and then get ready for her early morning flight, she had been surprised when the young PhD interviewee had texted her almost immediately. They had chatted all morning about the kinds of things one does when getting to know someone: age, favorite foods, Netflix, pets, living situations, work. The conversation had been easy and fun, almost as if reconnecting with an old friend.

Nicole now knew for certain that getting to know Waverly Earp would be a tad bit trickier than she would have liked, after having confirmed that Waverly did indeed live in Calgary, but Nicole had casually mentioned, without sounding boastful, that one of the perks to her job was the ability to affordably travel, when time permitted. Although the living locations had put a temporary damper on their conversation, this revelation had immediately lightened up the disappointment and opened up the possibility for the women’s conversation to continue further. With the texts now paused, as Waverly had started her important interview right around the same time that Nicole’s flight from YVR to LAX had departed from Vancouver, she was trying to find things to pass the time. Now that she was back on land, sitting alone for hours at a time in the bustling airport with spotty wifi was nothing compared to waiting for an “I’m done” text that she had been promised by Waverly.

She was pleasantly surprised everything was going so well. She hadn’t put much stock in trying to date electronically. Having listened to her friends experiences with Tinder, she had only downloaded it once, and only after a night of drinking with friends at the bar after a long shift. Now that she was thinking about it, it was also the same night she downloaded Instagram and picked out  _ Aerohaughtics _ as a username. Smiling at the thought of the girl thousands of miles away, she quickly became frustrated that her mind had now looped her back to Waverly Earp, who was currently busy and unable to talk. After hearing some rumbling in her stomach, Nicole decided food was now necessary and opted to head over to get a burger from Shake Shack. Satisfied this would pass some time for her, she stood up, sighed one last time as she checked her phone, and headed off in the direction of her lunch.

__________

Waverly was literally jumping for joy on the steps of the history building at Columbia. Her morning had gone perfectly, from the nonstop text exchanges between the cute pilot she was flirting with, to the interview which she was sure she had just nailed. She could tell that they had almost offered her a position unofficially, before quickly remembering protocol and promising they would be in touch “ _ really _ soon.” Overjoyed she quickly pulled out her phone to Facetime Wynonna. As she waited for her sister to pick up, she started walking in the direction of the nearest bench. Looking back to her screen as she realized it was no longer ringing, she was startled to see a redhead smirking at her. 

“Hello Waverly Earp! How are you?” 

Stunned she stared for a moment before realizing she had called the wrong person. “Nicole! Hi! So good to see you again! Complete honesty here, I meant to call my sister to tell her about my interview, but I guess my mind had other ideas.”

_ “Well I’m honored I get to talk to you first, even if by accident. How did it go?” _

“It wasn’t the worst… Well, it was terrific, actually! I was really worried going into it, but my presentation went well and the interview portion went even better. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I think I may have gotten a position there!”

_ “Yay! That is incredible. I wouldn’t expect any less than perfection from you, though. You seem pretty incredible.” _

Cheeks reddening, Waverly sat down on a bench to minimize the distractions around her so she could give her full attention to the pilot. “Thanks. You’re so sweet. What are you up to?”

_ “I just finished a chocolate shake from Shake Shack and am waiting to board my plane to Toronto. I’ve got a few days off and am ready to be home for a little bit.” _

She couldn’t hide the disappointment that Nicole would still be thousands of miles away, without the possibility of fulfilling a coffee date, which Waverly kept insisting she owed to her. “Oh… yeah... that sounds fun. I bet CJ will be excited to see you.”

Waverly could tell Nicole looked puzzled at her disappointment, but the redhead didn’t push it.  _ “Probably not. Pretty sure she loves Jeremy more than me, but she tolerates me most days. We’ve come to an agreement that as long as I leave the box out from my latest internet purchase for her to sit in, she’ll give me a few good minutes of cuddling time. It’s less than ideal, but it works for us.”  _ The pilot smirked again at that, showcasing her dimples. That smile and those dimples were going to be Waverly’s kryptonite, she could already tell.

Picturing Nicole cuddling, Waverly immediately felt her stomach flutter and she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Well it’s her loss, you seem like you’d make a great cuddler.” 

Forgetting that the redhead was currently staring at her, she panicked and let the smile drop from her face, eyes widening as she realized what she had just said.  _ Oh no. That was too forward. You’re ruining this Waverly.   _

She went to go smooth it over but stopped as Nicole spoke at the same time. “What I meant was --”

_ “Only with the right person.”  _ Followed by a wink.

Blushing again, Waverly knew she needed to wrap this up before she said anything else that she might regret. Texting at least allowed her the option of moderating the level of flirt she was putting forth, and she knew this phone call could ruin her chances if she wasn’t careful. 

“...Well I should probably call Wynonna and check in. I promised her that I would call immediately after. But it was SO GOOD talking to you, Nicole. Seriously, I don’t think I have met someone so fast and enjoyed talking to them as much as I enjoy talking with you. Plus it’s even better when I can see you…” She smiled at the redhead before remembering her goal to end the conversation. “...And on that note, I am going to go.”

_ “It was my pleasure Waverly. You’re adorable. Text me when you get some time, yeah?”  _ She brightly smiled and the young Earp’s stomach fluttered again.

“Of course, goodbye Nicole.”

_ “Bye.” _

And with that, the conversation was over. Waverly allowed herself a few minutes to collect her thoughts before placing her originally intended call, opting to go with a traditional phone call this time. As the phone rang, she grinned thinking about the redhead who seemed so collected all of the time. Upon hearing a  _ “Sup, baby girl?” _ on the other end of the line, she smiled even brighter at the older Earp’s voice.

“‘Nonna. I need to tell you so much!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it too much fluff? It feels like a lot.


	6. Chapter 6

_Dammit, Nicole. You’ve got to be the one to make a move. She’s obviously not going to ask you to see her and you’re the one that can easily get to her._

Standing up right as the plane that will take her home to Toronto is about to board, Nicole pulls out her phone to make a call.

“Hey Jer, can you do me a huge favor?”

__________

Still sitting on the bench on campus, Waverly was playing with her long hair while rambling on about Nicole. “She’s amazing Wynonna. She’s 31 - she’s been a pilot for seven years but she’s flown since she was 14. She’s so well traveled. Besides what I creeped on on her Instagram, she said she has been to Auckland, Tokyo, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, and all over Europe. She’s smooth too - much cooler than me. But I’m trying to make it seem like I am not a huge nerd who could sit in front of a fire sipping tea while reading about the use and perception of abandoned ruins of the South American territories for hours at a time.”

_“Okay first off, if she doesn’t like all of your boring ass nerdy tendencies, she’s not right for you. Second off, didn’t you have an important interview today? Kinda thought that’s what this call would be about.”_

“Oh… yeah, that. It went well. I totally got it. But that’s not what’s important here Wy - how do I ask her out? She lives in Toronto!”

_“‘It. Went. Well.’ You have been making me listen to that presentation for WEEKS and that is all I get?!! Come on, Waves.”_

“No, seriously. They basically promised it to me but said ‘they’d be in touch,’ so I guess it’s just a waiting game now. But Nonnnnaaaaaaa, I need your help. You know I haven’t really dated since Champ.”

Thinking back to her high school boyfriend, Waverly inwardly sighed in relief at how close she had come to marrying the tall, handsome boy-man whom she had dated for five years. Covered in tattoos and a smile that melted the hearts of all the girls in her high school, she had given him everything while making her way through the first few years of college. He had stayed behind in their hometown, working odd jobs and alternating driving to the city to see Waverly on the weekends if she couldn’t make it up to him. He was attractive, an attentive lover, and could be sweet when he wanted to be, but they had little in common and near the end she realized how often he would tune her out in favor of his Xbox, his phone, the Oilers games, the Mariners games, and basically any sports team Champ took a mild interest in. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the fight that started when he insisted she move back home to Purgatory after finishing her undergrad. She had always planned on continuing onto her PhD, hoping to become a professor and pass on her love of history to others, and she thought she had clearly expressed this to him many times. Unfortunately, he had failed to pick up on the seriousness of her decision, which she later realized was because he was so often ignoring her for the distractions around him in his life. The breakup had been messy, as he had promised he would listen more, and she had insisted it wouldn’t work. He had tried to push a ring towards her near the end as a last ditch effort to smooth it over, and she almost accepted as they had been together for so long, but after a weekend of thought, she knew moving on would be best for both of them. It worked better romantically for Champ than it did for her, as it turned out. She became coupled with her graduate studies, and he quickly became engaged and then married to Annie Crofte. Happy that he now had a small family back in Purgatory, she was now hyper aware of the fact that it had been five years since that time and she was still as single as the day she was born.

Outwardly sighing this time before continuing, “... I just - it’s been a while. Please, I need your help.”

_“Well, she's a pilot. So I’m presuming she has the ability to travel easier than you. And you have two days to kill in New York, which is one of the easiest cities to get to since people fly there all the damn time, so ask her to come show you around. I’d assume she’s been there if she’s as well traveled as you say.”_

“Is that weird, though? I don’t want it to be weird.”

_“Probably. But you’re weird, so it’s okay.”_

Waverly could hear the smile in her sister’s voice at that last statement and it made her smile in return. “I don’t know why I like you so much. You’re so mean to me.”

_“I’m mean to everyone. But the difference with you is that I love you.”_

“I know. I love you too. I should go though. I want to go to the Met today and it closes at 5:30 so I have to get going.”

_“Okay, let me know what goes on with this pilot of yours, okay? And remember that I love you. But if you tell anyone that, I will deny it.”_

“Ha ha. Bye Nonna.”

_“Take care, Baby Girl.”_

Hanging up, Waverly noticed she had a text from Nicole in her inbox.

 

> _I know I said I’d wait for your text but I was just wondering, how would you feel if I took a flight to New York? That coffee you promised me sounds awfully tempting._

__________

Nicole was pacing back and forth outside the gate. The plane to Toronto was about to finish boarding and she hadn’t yet heard from Waverly. She was worried she had been too forward, but she was taking comfort in the fact that the message hadn’t been read yet.

Knowing that Nicole was supposed to be on this flight, the gate agent looked over at her expectantly as she was now the last passenger to board. Deciding to cut her losses and head home, Nicole reached for her bag and began walking towards the agent with her head hung low right as she heard a ping from her phone.

 

> _I would love that. When can you be here?_

With a smile forming as she read the words before her, she looked over to the gate agent who was not at all pleased with the delay. Nicole apologized profusely for taking her time and explained she wouldn’t make this flight before taking off towards the terminal that had passengers currently boarding a plane to New York.

Right before she sent her presumptuous text to Waverly, she had done some research to make sure she could facilitate this last minute trip. Checking to make sure Jeremy could watch her cat for a few more days, calling her college friend Mercedes to see if she could crash on her couch while in New York, and looking to see exactly when the next flight to New York was. She was now practically running to get there on time, as the next departing flight to New York was closing its doors in five minutes and she still didn’t have a seat on it.

Narrowly missing a five year old who had run out in the middle of the walkway, Nicole swerved and made it to the gate agent right as the last passenger was scanning their ticket to board.

“Canigetaseat?!?” Breathing heavily, Nicole was not proud of her labored breath and sweaty state as she looked at the tall man in uniform before her.

“I’m sorry?” The agent looked up, half amused at the tall redhead who was now hunched over trying to catch her breath.

“I’m… so… sorry. I... had to… run here.” She was slowly regaining her composure as she started to explain herself. “I had to run here from another terminal. I’m a pilot who was supposed to be flying home to Toronto but I had a last minute change of plans and I need to head to New York to meet a friend. Please tell me there is a seat left on this flight.”

“Well the flight is actually full...” Nicole’s face immediately dropped. Knowing she would be stuck waiting for another flight filled her with a sense of dread. “But lucky for you, we had two no-shows. Let me call out there to stop them so I can get you checked in before they leave without you.”

Dimples out, Nicole was so happy she could kiss the man before her. “Oh my gosh. You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much!”

Now standing waiting patiently for the man before her to finish booking her seat, she pulled out her phone to finally respond to the young Earp. 

 

> _I can be there tonight. I know coffee at 8 pm is less than ideal, but how about we go get a drink instead?_  

Little bubbles appeared on her screen and it was not lost on Nicole that the brunette was replying almost immediately.  

 

> _I would love that! Where can I meet you?_

Nicole hated that she was so invested already. She didn’t know the person on the other end of this conversation, not really, but she did know that she wanted to get to know her and the thought of being able to do that tonight was exciting.  

 

> _Times Square at 8 pm? There is a bunch of red steps near the TKTS booth right in the middle of everything. I can meet you there. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen How I Met Your Mother, but there’s a bar not too far from Times Square that inspired the show. I’d love to take you._

 

 

> _I love that show! That sounds amazing. I am excited! I’ll see you then?_

   

 

> _Perfect. See you soon, Waverly Earp. :)_  

Grabbing her boarding pass and thanking the gate agent again, Nicole hurried down the jet bridge as to not hold the plane up any longer than she already had.

She quickly took her seat and pulled out her phone to confirm with Mercedes when she would be there before she shut it off and pulled out a book to read for the long flight ahead.

__________

 _Shitballs. I have a date. A date in New York. A date in New York with a hot redhead who is flying here to see me. Oh no. What if it goes horribly and she did this for nothing? Crap Waverly, you’re going to ruin this._  

Panicking now that she was back in her hotel room, Waverly was well aware that she needed to decide what her next move would be, or she would waste away her afternoon in a foreign city worrying needlessly. 

Deciding the Met was not an option because she wanted to be able to focus on the art and not on her date tonight, Waverly decided an afternoon showing of the Lion King was her best option for something that would pass the time and keep her entertained, while waiting on her pilot to arrive. Opting to stay in her interview attire, Waverly checked directions to the theatre and headed to the nearest subway stop before getting on the train and making her way to the show. Taking the only seat available on the train, she pulled out her phone to text Wynonna an update. 

 

 

> _Date tonight with the pilot. Heading to Lion King right now._

 

 

> _Fuckin hell, you move fast. Better not wear your granny panties tonight at the rate you’re going._

  

 

> _Gross. Also I don’t own granny panties, thank you very much._

  

 

> _Liar._

 

 

> _Am not._

  

 

> _Are too._

  

 

> _Am not, no battles._

 

 

> _Fine. Whatever makes you feel better while you’re walking around in your granny panties. And don’t forget to go get a cookie at Schmackary's after the show._

   

 

> _Mmkay. Love you!_

 

 

> _Love you too. Be safe. Wear protection tonight. I’m not ready to be an aunt._

 Rolling her eyes, Waverly pulled up today’s crossword on her phone and passed the time as she waited for her stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did not expect to have a chapter up today. Hopefully you guys are still interested. Had some free time so this one's longer than the usual.
> 
> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Hope you're having a good whatever today is to you. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Date: Part I

Nicole had to time the next two hours perfectly. She needed to get a taxi, make her way into the city, get presentable enough to look like she hadn’t spent the majority of her day on an airplane, and get to Times Square to meet the gorgeous brunette she had spontaneously flown to see.

Mercedes was gracious enough to leave a spare key for her at the front desk of her apartment. Nicole was not entirely sure what exactly her old friend did, but she knew she was away most of the time but was always willing to let her stay in her gorgeous twenty-first floor one bedroom apartment that showcased a breathtaking view of Central Park. “Sleeping on the couch” meant sleeping on a surface much nicer, and much more expensive, than her actual bed at home, so Nicole appreciated the arrangement.

Turning on her phone after the plane landed, Nicole found that she had a picture of a cookie from Waverly with the caption, ‘ _Waiting for you ;)’._ She was certain her heart was going to explode out of her chest and kept revisiting the photo throughout the cab ride, before opting to send back a heart eyes emoji and a simple _‘You’re amazing’_ , hoping it properly conveyed how she was feeling at the moment.

As her cab pulled up to its destination, she paid her driver, stepped out onto the pavement, quickly relished the bustle of the busy city around her, and then made her way inside to prep for her date.

__________

Waverly had been on many first dates since her breakup with Champ. Most of them were either setups from college friends or Tinder dates and not one of them stuck. This first date was different. This first date was overwhelming. As Waverly was sitting cross legged on the counter of the bathroom of her hotel redoing her makeup, she was currently trying to decide if the gravity of this date was a good or bad thing. She had never been more excited to meet someone for drinks as she currently was, but she also had never felt so much pressure. Knowing that Nicole had flown to see her felt like this dark cloud was sitting above her, a ridiculous feeling to have over something as insignificant as drinks.

She hopped off the counter and made her way into the bedroom, she read Nicole’s reply and knew that dark cloud or not, tonight was going to mean something.

Turning on Pandora to play some music and ease some tension, Waverly slipped into a pair of skinny jeans, crop top, and pair of heels, before walking over to the mirror next to the television to braid her hair all the while humming along to the music playing from her phone.

__________

Nicole was early. Now sitting on a step in Times Square, she was trading Snaps with Jeremy, him sending a picture of CJ cuddled in between his legs with the caption ‘she loves me more’ and her sending back a selfie of her face with the caption ‘eat my shorts’. Laughing at his latest response and preparing to snap another picture, she glanced up just in time to see her date striding smoothly towards her. She was everything; smile radiating warmth, impossibly long legs for such a short body, abs that were peeking out below her top, magnified splendidly by the neon lights surrounding them, and arms that were more defined than an Ancient Greek sculpture.

Nicole swallowed hungrily before she remembered her manners, stood up, walked towards her date, greeted her with a quick hello and enveloped her in a hug. The first thing she noticed was how the small brunette fit perfectly in between her arms. Even in heels, Waverly’s head sat at just the right height that Nicole could set her chin atop her head for comfort or nuzzle in the crook of her neck. Deciding that both options were a bad move so soon, she pulled back to properly greet her date.

“I’m so excited to see you! How are you?” She smiled her dimpled grin and took in the warm smile she received in return.

“So good… Even better now that you’re here!” Nicole could immediately tell that Waverly had not meant to be that forward, as her eyes were currently as wide as saucers and she quietly chuckled before responding, “I have been looking forward to this since the moment I realized you creeped on my Instagram.” She paused with a smirk before she gestured in the direction they needed to head and continued, “Shall we?”

Waverly nodded and the two women began their journey to the bar.

__________

The second Waverly hugged Nicole, any doubt or looming fear about this date was gone. Conversation flowed easily as they walked the eight blocks to the bar. Nicole talked about her travels, and how her passion lied with seeing the world, and taking people to see the world. Waverly talked about her studies, and how she was eager to study and discover the meaning behind the past. Nicole was eager to hear every detail about Waverly’s interview earlier in the day, which now felt like it had happened ages ago, rather than just 12 hours ago. Waverly gladly shared what she knew, passing along her excitement to hear the committee's decision and assured Nicole she would let her know as soon as she heard.

They laughed as they sat across from each other in a booth in the bar sipping on their drinks and munching on nachos.

“I’m sorry you were scared of flying,” Nicole offered. Waverly was subtly noticing the caring tendency of the woman before her.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She waved her hand in the air and continued, “It was a silly fear from my childhood. Honestly, meeting you was the most reassuring thing that could have happened to me. I would have been a nervous wreck if you hadn’t picked up my notebook and introduced yourself.”

The redhead smiled widely, “Glad I could help, even if I didn’t realize I was doing so. So tell me about your family. You said you had a sister?”

“Yeah, Wynonna. She’s a few years older than me. Works as a cop in Calgary. She’s got a thing with this Doctor. They actually had a kid a few years ago, Alice. She’s the smartest little kid I’ve ever met. She’s got her moms sass too, so she can put you in your place. I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but I live with them in Calgary. Well not with John, but he’s around sporadically. We grew up with our Aunt Gus in a little town called Purgatory but moved to Calgary when she spends most of her time down in a swamp in Florida. What about you?”

“Well… I don’t speak to my family, actually. I guess you could say they don’t speak with me. They didn’t really love the gay daughter thing. But it’s cool because my friends are my family now. I met Jeremy in college, he’s like the brother I never wanted. I was snapping him before I saw you.”

Waverly laughed aloud before Nicole quizzically asked, “What’s so funny?”

“I thought you were taking selfies.”

Now laughing herself, Nicole continued, “You caught that? Damn… I mean, I’m not going to say I’ve never taken a shameless selfie before, but I was talking with Jer. I’m staying with my friend Mercedes here in New York. Met her in college too, actually. We dated for a little bit but we work better as friends. You know, typical lesbian.”

“Is she the hot doctor on your Instagram?”

Nicole’s brow furrowed as she was trying to piece Mercedes and the question together before realizing Waverly was talking about Shae. “Oh that’s Shae, my ex. We dated a long time ago. She’s my best friend now.” Nicole paused and then laughed, “I did not realize how much of a stereotype I was until this very moment. Just to get this out there, my favorite shirts are flannel and I do love playing softball. I don’t own a Subaru, though. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, please let me know now.”

Waverly chuckled before reaching forward and putting her hand on top of Nicole’s on the table. “I think I’ll give you a pass this one time.”

“Phew. So tell me, where’s this delightful cookie you sent me earlier? These nachos are good, but they’re no cookie.”

“Shit strumpet. I knew I forgot something. It’s back at my hotel. If you aren’t having a horrible time yet, how about we just go get a fresh one instead? I noticed the place is open until midnight.”

“Your company is actually the highlight of my evening so far, so that sounds lovely,” Nicole offered.

Waverly felt Nicole’s foot settle against her calf under the table as she used her free hand to motion for the check from the server. The second the bill arrived, Nicole had seized it out of Waverly’s grasp and had handed it back to the server, card included, without ever breaking away from Waverly’s hand.

Confused as to how that had occurred so quickly, Waverly began to playfully chastise the pilot, “I just gave you a pass for not owning a Subaru and this is how you repay me? I owe _you_ a drink, remember?”

“You owe me nothing, Waverly. It is a pleasure being here with you tonight. If I’m being honest, I was a bit nervous. I’ve never flown to meet someone for a first date before.”

Waverly was incredulous. “ _Y_ _ou_ were nervous! But your demeanor is so calm!”

Tossing her head back, Nicole laughed for what had to be the hundredth time in the short amount of time they had spent together. “Oh no. Shaking like a leaf internally. But you’re here and I’m a big fan of that so I’m doing my best to act calm.” At this, Waverly watched as Nicole flipped their hands so that Waverly’s palm was on the table and Nicole was playing with Waverly’s fingers gently. A comfortable silence overtaking the gentle caress as they waited for their check.

They only broke apart reluctantly when the check came and both women stood. Waverly began towards the door and stopped when she felt Nicole’s hand intertwine with hers. She turned and smiled an approving smile at the offering and led them to their next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, haven't been this nervous to post a chapter yet. Much more pressure writing them together than apart, I guess...


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Date: Part II

Walking down the bustling streets of New York with the most adorable person Nicole had ever met was exhilarating. Being around the small brunette who was smart, warm, and all kinds of beautiful made Nicole grin.

“Whatcha thinkin’ bout’?” she heard come from the woman to her right.

“Oh, just this girl I met yesterday. Bright, funny, enchanting. I’m a big fan of her.”

“Rude,” Nicole felt a bump against her hip and and looked down to see Waverly trying her best to maintain a stern face. “Thinking about another girl on our date? But I guess I can’t complain too much, I met this hot pilot yesterday. She’s amazing - went out of her way to come visit me. But don’t tell her. I don’t want it going to her head.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” With that, she used her free hand and pretended to lock her mouth and toss a key over her shoulder before chuckling and continuing, “So what made you pick this cookie place?”

“Wynonna. She’s a traveler. Likes to explore new places every chance she gets. Says its my nieces favorite cookie. They both insisted I come here. I’m not much of a sweet fan but she wouldn’t drop it, so I stopped by earlier today after the Lion King. Their cookies are really good.”  


“Not a sweet fan?!?” Pretending to be appalled she stopped abruptly and looked down at the other woman, “That may be a deal breaker for me, Earp.”

“Hey! They’re fine. Just not my favorite.”

Continuing their walk, both girls ducked out of the way of a bicyclist coming straight for them. “I guess if you gave me a pass for not driving a Subaru, I can give you a pass on this. More sweets for me, anyway.”

Feigning relief, Waverly looked back up to Nicole, “Oh thank goodness. If it’s any consolation, I am an excellent baker, though. I pride myself on my banana muffins. I won a sash for them at the county fair in my hometown one year.”

“I love muffins! And I am an even bigger fan of not having to make them myself! In fact, I was once told that I was never allowed to operate an oven again. Let me tell you, firefighters do not love coming to the same house multiple times.” She chuckled and shook her head.

“I can teach you! I am a great teacher!” Waverly jumped at the thought and the passion behind her words set Nicole’s heart aflutter.

“I would love that.”

They walked in a comfortable silence for the rest of the journey before Waverly guided them into the cookie shop. Marveling at the choices, the girls decided it best to split a cookie as they were both still full after their nacho binge. Nicole quickly paid again, much to Waverly’s irritation, but it was the hopeful PhD fellow that grabbed Nicole’s hand this time as they exited the restaurant, cookie in hand.

“It has been lovely spending time with you tonight, Waverly.” Nicole couldn’t contain her smile as she took her turn tearing off a portion of the cookie while walking towards the subway.

“100% agree. I’m kind of sad it’s over, though. When do you need to go home?”

Knowing that she had no real plans waiting for her back in Toronto, she mulled over telling Waverly that she was completely free for the next few days, but decided to let the young woman before her choose for her.

“It depends on if you wouldn’t mind some company tomorrow or not?” While not strictly a question, Nicole phrased it as such and tried to imply the next move was completely up to Waverly.

Watching the eyes of her date light up, Nicole knew that she would not be going home tomorrow, but the reassurance that followed was everything she could have hoped for.

“YAY! I love it here, but I am not going to lie,  I am so small and it is so big. And maybe a little overwhelming…” Nicole noticed Waverly stop mid sentence and look at her before continuing their walk, now with a small smile peeking out of the corner of her lips. “...But oddly enough, it’s not so intimidating with you around. What should we do tomorrow?”

“Whatever you want. I am up for literally anything.”

“Hmm.” Tapping her chin with her free hand, Waverly tried to recall the list of things she had written down back at her hotel room. “How do you feel about going to a museum with me? I wanted to go to the Met this afternoon but it didn’t work out.”

“Is that all? There is so much to do here! I would love to go to the Met, but don’t you want to go anywhere else? We can fit a lot in if we try hard enough.”

Scrunching up her face to think about her options, “Well… maybe the Statue of Liberty? It’s been a dream of mine since I watched An American Tail as a kid... And the Empire State Building? Nonna told me the view at night is ‘fuckin’ amazing.’” She added air quotes to emphasize her sister’s words.

Nicole looked down at Waverly’s adorable thinking face, pretended to mull over her decision, then responded, “Excellent choices! That sounds fun. I’ve never done the Empire State Building, so that will be a first for the both of us!” Now at the subway station and realizing they were to part ways, Nicole hesitated before she continued, “I don’t want to sound presumptuous here, but I can’t think of another way to say this… would you mind if I took you back to your hotel room? I promise I just to make sure you get there okay. You definitely look like you can handle yourself but I would prefer to make sure myself. And truth be told, not 100% ready to say goodbye yet.”

“Yeah... I guess. If you insist.” At that response, Nicole was worried she had overstepped, but the gleam on the face looking back at her shooed any looming doubt away.

__________

_What. Is. Happening?_

Waverly was lost in thought as the train clattered to her destination, her thigh now pressed against the thigh of a woman she had met only yesterday, but felt like she had known for years. Deciding to be brazen, she settled her hand atop the thigh of the redhead and proceeded to trace patterns with her fingers. Waverly couldn’t believe that Nicole was taking time out of, what Waverly presumed, had to have been a very long day to get her to her safely back to her hotel. Waverly looked over and smiled, just as the woman next to her yawned. Looking down at her watch, the brunette noticed it was nearing 12:30 and she had been talking with Nicole since 7:00 am Eastern this morning.

She leaned over and offered, “Sorry I’ve kept you so late. I know today must have been a long one for you.”

The train clamored to a stop and both women stood up to exit. Nicole pressed her hand to the small of Waverly’s back and responded. “No apologies! This whole day has been amazing.”

Sensing a lingering hesitation, she added, “I promise! Plus, you’ve been up as long as I have. So no need to apologize or I’ll have to apologize to you as well. Then we’ll just be stuck in a loop of apologies.”

Waverly hesitated at the top of the stairs of the station, but decided to drop it before she grabbed the redhead’s hand and walked in the direction of her hotel.

As they approached, Waverly slowed them to a stop and smiled up at Nicole. “This is me.”

Smiling back down at Waverly, Nicole responded, “Glad you made it safe.”

“What about you? Will you be okay?”

“Totally! I’m honestly not too far and with my weird work schedule, I’ve been in many a city late at night.”

“But… You’ll text me when you get back to your friend’s apartment?”

“I will, I promise.”

“Thank you for tonight. It was amazing.” Not feeling that sufficient enough to describe the day she had had thanks to Nicole she added, with emphasis, “You are amazing.”

“You’re the amazing one, Waverly. I will see you tomorrow? I can meet you here at 10?”

“It’s a date!”

As Waverly debated her next move, Nicole seized the delay and leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her cheek before backing away slowly, smiling the entire way. Waverly stood watching the redhead leave before she offered a small “bye” and then gave her best smile and wave before stepping through the revolving doors into the hotel room before her.

Grin on her face, Waverly headed towards the elevators as she head felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

> _Not home yet. But just wanted to say one more time how amazing I think you are. <3 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just more fluff. Sorry about all of the fluff. Not 100% sure where I'm taking the story but I've got some ideas for angst. 
> 
> Thanks, as always for you lovely comments and kudos, they make my day!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! You all are the best! Happy New Year!

The rest of the trip had been a whirlwind. The two women were now sitting at the airport, with smaller woman curled into Nicole’s side as they waited next to the gate for Waverly’s flight to Calgary. Moments kept flashing through Nicole’s mind of the last two days of her spontaneous trip. She had spent half of her day yesterday with Waverly at the Met, wandering through rooms, occasionally holding hands and stealing kisses to the cheek and forehead in corners. While not usually Nicole’s thing, she had loved every second of it because it showcased the passion and intelligence of the woman she had flown out to see. The woman who had studied history her whole life. Waverly added commentary on many of the pieces as they walked slowly from room to room and Nicole had intently listened. They had spent so long at the museum that they missed the Statue of Liberty that day, and opted to rent bikes and ride through Central park, while enjoying the beautiful weather of the late spring afternoon. The laughed as the wind flew through their hair, competing to see who could ride faster when they were alone on the trail, and slowing down to enjoy the journey when they caught back up to others also enjoying the park. Later that night, they had shared their first kiss atop the Empire State building while looking out as the sun was setting and the lights of the city were just turning on. It had been an innocent kiss, just an impulsive move on Waverly’s part when she had looked up to find Nicole smiling at her when she turned around to point out Times Square to the taller woman. Nicole had later taken Waverly to her favorite Italian place in little Italy that night and they had enjoyed a few glasses of wine with their pasta, and had walked lazily back to the subway station, Nicole had made sure they were both back to their respective rooms that night so they could wake up early enough the next morning to get to the Statue of Liberty before Waverly’s flight, but that hadn’t stopped Waverly from trapping Nicole against her hotel room door and making sure the redhead knew how much fun the trip had been thanks to her presence. Nicole had reluctantly broken apart, insisting the Statue of LIberty was something they could not miss before their flights in the early afternoon. 

Now, while sitting at the airport and coming to the realization that she was faced with being apart from the brunette for an uncertain amount of time, Nicole frowned.

“What’s up? Why is your face doing that?” She heard from below her, as the smaller woman moved to sit up. 

Knowing full well what Waverly meant, Nicole decided to play into the question, “Ouch. This is just my face. Care to explain?” She paused and smiled at Waverly.

Feeling a light punch to her upper arm, she heard a giggle and then a quiet, “You know what I mean. Why are you frowning?” At that, the smaller woman leaned over and rested her head against her shoulder.

“I’m just a little sad this is over. It has been the craziest thing I have ever done, but definitely the best thing too…” She paused and looked shyly down at her hands before continuing, “You are so much fun. And I just don’t know when we’ll be able to do this again.”

“Oh. I hadn’t really thought about that.” Nicole felt Waverly grab one of her hands, which she was currently keeping busy by fidgeting awkwardly with her cell phone, a move she often did to calm her nerves. “Do you have any layovers in Calgary anytime soon?” Waverly asked, almost hopeful.

“No. Honestly, I fly mostly American routes out of Toronto. I was in Calgary covering a friend’s shift the other day. Because I am a newer captain, I get the shitty schedules too. I never really know when or where I am going. These are actually the first consecutive days off I have had in the last six weeks.”

“Fudge nuggets.” Nicole noticed Waverly’s happy demeanor subtly shift and the smaller woman started to recoil into herself, almost as if protecting herself.

They both sat in an awkward silence before Nicole continued. “Well, I don’t want to sound too forward…” Stopping to lightly chuckle as she came to a realization she added, “...as if I could any more than I already have after inviting myself on your vacation. But what if I added you to my flight benefits? You could fly out to see me?” Wanting to explain why she couldn’t as easily reciprocate a trip out to Calgary, Nicole emphasized, “I would come visit you but my schedule is hardly ever set in stone, but I can definitely plan something fun for us when I am on reserve. They make me sit around waiting and I don’t always get called out. We can go explore Toronto. It will be like here, but with the added bonus of me knowing the city a bit better!”

With a renewed sense of optimism, Waverly brightened immediately, but was still hesitant. “Would you mind? My schedule at work is winding down now that the semester is over. They are only using me sporadically because they know I will be leaving for my PhD.”

“‘Would I mind?’ Are you kidding me? I would lo-- really like that! My friends would love to meet you too. Especially Jer, he thrives when he is around other intellectually stimulating people. And you’re like the smartest, so he will be in heaven!”

Blushing at the compliment, Waverly reached over and took Nicole’s hand, right as the gate agent announced the first boarding of the flight to Calgary. “Okay, I’m so excited! But I’ll only come as long as I can meet CJ.”

“Of course, she will be the first friend I introduce you to. She’s an asshole, though. So don’t be surprised if she hates you.”

The both started chuckling and Nicole leaned over and nuzzled her nose against Waverly’s forehead before leaning up and kissing it lightly. “I’m so glad you cyber stalked me,” she said as she leaned slightly back to look Waverly in the eyes.

Halfheartedly pushing Nicole away, Waverly retorted, “I did not! I cyber  _ researched  _ you! I was just practicing for all that research I am going to have to do for my PhD.”

“Well whatever it was... I am a big fan.”

“Me too.” She smiled and leaned over, ghosting a tender kiss onto Nicole’s lips.

__________

Unfortunately, Waverly found she was still scared of flying. Without the assurance of knowing Nicole was in charge of her safety, she was currently sitting in her seat while the plane finished loading the last passengers, with a vise grip on the armrests, trying to decide if fleeing the plane and moving to New York this very day was a viable option to get out of the certain doom now awaiting her when the plane took off. 

She sat there for a minute, focusing on breathing and deciding her next move when she heard a ping come from her pocket. 

She pulled out her phone, thinking Nicole had texted, she was surprised to find a text instead from Wynonna. Opening up to see a picture of her sister holding Alice, who was wearing the wooly mammoth costume Waverly had sewn before leaving for New York, she read the accompanying text.

> _ One of us is excited to see you. Spoiler alert: it’s not me. _

She laughed silently at her sister’s assholery and decided that decided missing Alice’s end of year school Dinosaur play was not an option. Now noticing she had an Instagram notification, she smiled when she saw who it was from.

> _ Aerohaughtics has tagged you in a post _

Opening up to see a picture Waverly had snapped of Nicole laughing at a joke she had just told while standing in front of the Statue of Liberty earlier that morning, she smiled at the caption Nicole had written with the shot.

> _ This is the second most beautiful lady I saw this week. #cyberresearchingftw _

Pulling up her texts, she quickly typed out a  _ “So tell me again how safe this airplane is?”  _ and fired it off to her pilot, realizing the assurance was now not needed, as thoughts of seeing her family, and hopefully Nicole again soon, had distracted her completely from takeoff.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a tiny bit of a racy part in the middle. Skip the first paragraph after Nicole's shuttle pulls up if that isn't your jam. :)

Falling into her own bed, Nicole was sure she was living in a dream. If it wasn’t for the angry ball of fur currently purring for attention at her from the floor, Nicole would be convinced she was dreaming.

After a quick flight home, followed by a short detour over to Jeremy’s house to pick up her angry orange cat, Nicole was now ready to rest in her own bed and reflect on a whirlwind few days. Just as she closed her heavy eyes, ready for a quick nap, her phone, now on the bedside table, began vibrated loudly across the hard wooden surface.

Grabbing and answering in a sing songy voice, “Hey, beautiful,” she was not greeted by the voice she was expecting.

“Well hello to you too, Haughtcakes. You haven’t called me that in years. Are you ill? I can write you a prescription for that.”

Though wincing at her slip, she was still excited to talk with her ex. “Shae! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“This isn’t special. We talk all the time, jerk.” The woman on the other end of the line paused, “Well.. I  _was_ calling to find out about your cryptic post. ‘Second most beautiful girl’? We both know I was in Toronto this weekend, not New York, so I couldn’t have possibly been there. So... what was that all about?”

“Oh you saw that? It was nothing.” She knew she was lying, she knew Shae knew she was lying, but she wasn’t sure she was quite prepared to detail her new love interest just yet, even to her best friend.

A small sigh was heard on the other end of the line followed immediately by, “Cole, we both know I know when you’re lying. Don’t even try.”

“Fine.” Huffing loudly before rolling onto her stomach and kicking her legs in the air like a schoolgirl in a 1950s sitcom, Nicole started detailing her last few days; the meeting in the airport, the messages, the impromptu flight, the activities in New York, followed by their departure at the airport, just hours ago.

Listening intently the whole time, Shae was excited to add her two cents to the story. “My favorite part of this is that just one week ago at dinner you were full of B.S. excuses as to why you weren’t dating.” She continued in a higher voice, one that didn't sound like Nicole at all, but one she used frequently to mock the pilot. “‘I don’t have time’, ‘My schedule is just so hectic’, ‘I haven’t met the right person.’”  Now back to her regular register, she proceeded, “I told you that you just needed to put yourself out there. And New York? You DEFINITELY did.”

Nicole laughed because she knew the other woman was right. “You’re right, Shae.” She mumbled the next sentence much quieter, not wanting to stroke the doctor’s ego too much, but also wanting to be honest, “You always are. It was definitely worth it.”

“Thank you, Captain Haughtcakes. And for the record, I’m  _so_ happy for you. I want to meet her when she comes to town.”

Shae’s love for the pilot was genuine. She was always pushing Nicole in directions she was sometimes hesitant to reach for herself, all the while being a much needed rock in Nicole’s turbulent life. After being cut off from her family during college, Shae took it upon herself to make sure Nicole was included in every family activity her family hosted. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter all were all spent with the Pressman’s in their modest suburban home in Toronto. Nicole considered the Pressman’s her family, and they considered her a part of theirs.

Smiling at the love Shae had put into her last statement, Nicole replied, “That can be arranged, as long as you don’t tell her ANY of our old stories.”

“I cannot and will not promise that. Now when are we doing dinner again? Maybe breakfast this time? There’s a pancake place that just opened near me I’ve been wanting to try.”

__________

Nicole was exhausted. She loved her job, she really did. She was hard pressed to find something that brought her as much pleasure as takeoff on a long flight, knowing she was helping people travel quickly and safely. The long days were getting to her, though, especially now that she had someone she desperately wanted to see again.

Walking outside in the crisp, cool air of Salt Lake City, she yawned deeply and then sighed. She was excited to get to her hotel to tuck in for the night and finish the last of the documentary she was watching, but she knew she was missing someone important.

Now standing at the curb waiting with a few other crew members for the shuttle that would take them to their hotel, she pulled out her phone during a lull in the conversation to check her messages for what was likely the hundredth time since she had landed. She was discouraged to see she still didn’t have a reply from a certain brunette hundreds of miles away. Not knowing when the next time they would see each other would be was becoming harder and harder each day and Nicole was not a fan. Thinking through her possibilities, she pulled her phone back out and started looking at route options, right as the shuttle pulled up to take her to her hotel.

__________

Waverly could feel the weight of the redhead pressing against her in exactly the right spot. Fingertips ghosted up her thigh as kisses were sweetly placed along her jaw. Nicole somehow could be everywhere all at once, setting Waverly ablaze with desire in the process. One moment the redhead was biting down on her pulse point, the next moment her mouth was greedily taking a taut nipple and ravishing it while playing with the the other breast, making sure both received the proper attention. Eventually fiery red hair was trailing slowly down, down, down to the place Waverly craved her most. The pilot smiled up at her from in between Waverly’s yoga strengthened legs, flashing her signature dimples that drove Waverly mad. Her head slowly moved, Waverly threw her own head back against the pillows in anticipation, she was prepared, she had waited so long.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

At that, Waverly sat up abruptly in bed, groggy, confused, and a little frustrated. Trying to make sense of where she was, she could tell she was alone in her bed in Calgary, light was spilling through the edges of her satin curtains, and she could hear Wynonna downstairs swearing at, what Waverly presumed to be, the coffee maker they had recently purchased.

“Fucking hell, you’re brand new. Why can’t you just work?” She heard the sound of a hand smacking plastic through her closed door.

_We’re going to have to have a lesson again._

Leaning over and squinting towards the clock on her wall, she could tell that it was no later than 7:00 am, not quite late enough to be fully awake yet. She dropped heavily back down onto the bed, turning slightly so her face was mostly covered from the light peaking through the curtains.

Now that the semester at school was over, Waverly hadn’t had any work to do the last week and she was becoming restless. Trying to fill her time, she took Alice to and from school everyday, helped her with homework every night, was packing lunches for everyone and cooking dinner every night, and had been spending more time at the gym than ever. It had been three weeks since her trip to New York, three weeks since her interview at Columbia, which she still had yet to hear anything about, and three weeks since she had seen Nicole. They had talked everyday, though. Mostly through text and Snapchat, but occasionally the pilot would Facetime her from her hotel while on layover somewhere distant. Waverly had originally been hesitant to ask Nicole when she could come visit, but was growing frustrated at the delay. Trying to casually mention it two days ago during a phone call, Nicole had brushed it off quickly but apologized profusely, saying that her reserve was “soon” and promised to make it up to Waverly.

With her face back in the pillows, she pulled the covers over her head and opted to try and catch a few more minutes of sleep before she needed to get up to take Alice to school. Her efforts were fruitless, however, as the young girl threw open her door and ran into the room, jumping on top of the older brunette.

_Oomph._

“Aunt Wavey! Good morrrrrnnnninnngg! I missed you!”

Laughing from underneath the covers, Waverly’s reply was slightly muffled, “I put you to bed last night. It’s been less than 12 hours.”

Pausing to think through the statement, she proceeded to reply while yanking down the covers. “Hmm… Seemed longer. Oh well! Now GET. UP. I gotta go to school.”

“Fine. Give me fifteen minutes and I will be there. And will you please go ask your mom to make me a cup of coffee? And tell her add the water first.”

“Okayyyyyy.” She stood up on the bed, looked back and smiled at her aunt and then hopped down with a small thud. The young girl trotted over to the open door before she turned back around to look at her Aunt.

“Aunt Wavey?”

Rubbing one eye, Waverly propped herself up on her elbow to better look at her young niece. “Hmm?”

“Love you!”

Her heart instantly warmed at the young girl’s sweet declaration and she quickly responded, “I love you too, Sweetie Pie,” before fully sitting up and proceeding to start her day.

__________

Nicole stepped off the plane, adjusted her tie and walked down the jetway. She had to switch two shifts, taking on shifts that involved red eyes to cities she hated, to get this route. Now that she was here she had two days to spend before she had to get to get back to Toronto for work. She hoped that her brush off the other day hadn’t been rude, she just didn’t want her plan foiled. Waverly had talked about how bored she was now that the semester was over and work was practically nonexistent, she had also begun to worry that she hadn’t heard from any of the places she had interviewed for. She knew a PhD was very important to her not quite girlfriend and seeing her worry was distressing. She also was very aware that flying was still not quite Waverly’s favorite activity, and she was hoping the next time the brunette was traveling, Nicole could possibly accompany her to talk her through the process, thereby easing some of the stress for the shorter woman.

She walked to a relatively quiet area of the airport, an unoccupied gate at the edge of the terminal. It was mostly abandoned by travelers, save for a few people who were obviously camped out, killing time through a long layover by napping across uncomfortable seats. She settled as far away from everyone as she could, put her bags down and took a deep breath, hoping the phone call she was about to make would go over well.

She scrolled through her contacts until a familiar and beautiful picture appeared. She hit call and the image Waverly had set for herself, a selfie of the two of them in Central Park, overtook her screen and ringing was heard through the phone.

Barely two rings later, Nicole heard what was quickly becoming her favorite voice. “Hey! I’m so happy to hear from you! I wasn’t expecting a call this early!!” She could hear Waverly’s smile through the line, making her own face light up at the sound.

“Yeah, I have some time to kill so I was hoping maybe I could see you?”

She heard a pause before a confused response came through the line. “Totally! But why didn’t you Facetime if you wanted to see me?”

“Well… I kind of mean  _see_ see you. I’m maybe at the Calgary airport right now. I wanted to surprise you.”

There was a shriek on the other end of the line, causing Nicole to wince and pull the phone away slightly. After a moment she soon heard a slightly calmer, but still loud, “CAN I COME GET YOU RIGHT NOW!?”

She laughed heartily before she replied, “No. I don’t want to put you out. I need to get to my hotel room and then maybe we can do lunch?”

“Baby! N- Nic- I mean Nicole! I want to see you right now! And you don’t have to get a hotel room, you can stay at my house!”

Nicole had not missed Waverly’s usage of a pet name. It made her happy to know that even though it had been a while since they had seen each other in person, the younger girl was still developing feelings for her.

“I already got a hotel room because I didn’t want to intrude, but maybe you could come with me over there so I can change out of my uniform and we can head to lunch after? If you really don’t mind, that is.”

“Of course I don’t mind, silly! I would love to do that! I just dropped Alice off at school so I am already out right now. I can probably be there in 20 minutes if I hurry. Is that okay?”

“Don’t rush. I am accustomed to waiting in airports. Part of the job.” She said it with a smile, excitement filling her veins that she would get to see Waverly so soon. She could not believe that her unexpected arrival was so well received, and she was very grateful it had been.

“Okay, no promises. But I will be there soon! I’ll text you when I am five minutes away.”

“Okay be safe! See you soon.” At that they hung up and Nicole headed out towards the exit, hoping to find a bench to sit on near the front of passenger pickup, so she could see Waverly as soon as possible, deciding that three weeks was definitely too long to wait to see the captivating history buff.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta stop wishing you all happy holidays/happy new year/etc. thinking I won't update and then updating the very next day. I guess I just forget what free time is like when I am out of school, allowing me to get a chapter done early.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Have a good night all! Thanks for everything!


	11. Chapter 11

To say Waverly was excited was an understatement. She had politely dodged two date offers since coming back from her New York trip, much to Wynonna’s chagrin. Nothing about her relationship with Nicole was official yet, but if the daily texts, Snaps, and consistent calls were any indication, it definitely felt like it would soon become such. The woman had now twice gone out of her way to visit Waverly, a move that was very sacrificing. This was something she was completely unaccustomed to in past relationships, as she often found that those she partnered with tended to live more on the selfish side, but now that she was seeing Nicole, it was an attribute she found incredibly attractive.

The drive to the airport took longer than she had originally hoped and Waverly was fretting due to the delay. It was mostly due to construction, but partly due to her promise to NIcole to stay safe, but she had been cursing the traffic Gods the entire way. As she pulled her red Jeep into the airport pickup and caught her first glimpse of red hair in that form fitting black suit, all worry about her lateness left her mind immediately. Wanting to surprise the pilot who had flown out of her way to see her, and was currently leaning against a railing with her legs crossed, distracted by her phone, she quietly pulled off the road a little past the redhead, shifted into neutral and pulled the E brake, practically jumping out of her car and running towards the unsuspecting redhead.

Enveloping her in a tight hug, she enthusiastically greeted her, “Heyyyyy!!!” Before pulling back slightly, and pressing a quick kiss to the taller woman’s lips. “I missed you!”

Grateful that her surprise was well received Nicole smiled, put her phone in her pocket and wrapped her arms around the brunette before her, “I missed you too, Waves!” She said and then offered another kiss, this time a little slower.

Reluctantly breaking free from the shorter woman’s grasp to grab her bag and head to the car before an airport employee chastised them for breaking loading zone protocol, she continued, “I really hope this is okay? I know I should have warned you but the opportunity literally arose last night. I’ve been trying to make this happen for about a week now, but didn’t want to make any promises I couldn't keep so when I got word last night I jumped on it and by then we had already said goodnight.”

Climbing into the driver’s side door, Waverly rolled her eyes at the pilot’s ramble and began to playfully lecture her, “Nicole. Stop it. I could not think of a better surprise. How long do I have you for?”

“I’m here for two days if that’s o--” Recognizing the stern look on Waverly’s face, she immediately corrected, “I’m here for two days.”

“Much better. Now where is this hotel that you _insist_ upon staying at?”

__________

Nicole laughed as she watched Waverly bend down to listen to the six year old who was currently beckoning her with her pointer finger.

Whispering none too quietly, she heard the tiny brunette shyly ask her aunt, “Who is she?”

Now out of her work clothes and into a casual pair of jeans, loose fitting white shirt, and red Converse, the pilot watched the interaction between the two Earp’s with love while nervously rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet waiting for the smallest girl’s approval. Nicole had insisted they continue Waverly’s normal routine, and even though she had insisted Wynonna could go get her daughter, she was excited to meet the young girl she had heard so much about over the last few weeks.

Pointing over to Nicole, Waverly replied, “That’s my friend Nicole. Remember? I told you about her. She’s very special. She flies planes and she flew out just to see us.”

Hesitating and eyeing the tall redhead suspiciously, the six year old was not quite sold. “Do we like her?”

“Yeah, we really like her.” Nicole smiled at the half hearted whisper but had the decency to look away, as if she wasn’t hearing every word.

Pulling away from her aunt with a firm “Okay” the young girl walked over to the taller woman and hugged her around the waist, before looking up at the redhead and introducing herself.

“I’m Alice Holliday. Nice to meet you.”

Trying to contain a chuckle Nicole got down on her haunches to be eye to eye with the young girl, “Pleasure is all mine, Alice. You’re adorable just like your aunt.” She looked up and winked at the woman now above them. “What grade are you in Alice?”

“I’m in first grade but Miss Lucado says ‘I’m a third grader in a first grade class.’” She looked at her aunt for confirmation.

“Yes you are, Sweetie Pie.” Waverly added proudly and patted the young girl on the shoulder.

“Genius must run in your genes then!”

Shying away from the compliment offered by the pilot, the young girl deflected, “Aunt Wavey says you fly planes. That’s so cool,” punctuating the last sentence with awe.

“Yeah, not as cool as first grade though. But maybe I can take you up in my plane one time, if your mom will let me.”

Alice’s eyes went wide at the offer and she nodded vigorously.

“Your aunt says that she promised she’d take you to the movies this afternoon. Do you think I could join you both?”

Alice looked at Nicole very seriously before replying, “Only if we can still get popcorn.”

“Of course! Is it okay if I get candy too?”

Alice’s eyes once again went wide and a huge grin appeared on her face as she looked up at Waverly and exclaimed excitedly, “She likes candy?!” Looking back at Nicole, the tiny girl put a serious face back on and casually responded with a shrug,“I guess.”

Nicole grinned and stood up as the young girl turned around and headed in the direction of Waverly’s Jeep, parked in the back of the now almost empty school lot. The three girls walked in happy silence and both women couldn’t help but melt when Alice slipped her hand into Nicole’s halfway into the journey.

__________

“Jerk!” Waverly, currently sitting up on Nicole’s hotel room bed, tossed a pillow at the redhead who was walking back into the room.

“Hey, she cuddled into me during the movie. I can’t help it if she likes me.” After taking Alice to an afternoon showing of Lego Batman and then to a diner to get pancakes, they had just finished dropping a sleeping Alice off at Waverly’s and were now back in Nicole’s hotel room alone.

Nicole grabbed the pillow and tossed it back to Waverly, hitting her in the stomach, before walking over and bending down to place a kiss to her lips, one that was meant to be short and chaste, but ended up being the exact opposite. A little disoriented, Waverly licked her lips and smiled at the woman leaning into her when she pulled away, “Well, I can’t really blame her.” She patted the bed next to her, encouraging Nicole to join her. “I was promised a Netflix binge, now get over here. Those Office reruns are not going to watch themselves.”

Happily obliging, Nicole kicked off her shoes, climbed over the smaller woman, stopping for a quick kiss and then settled into Waverly’s side.

It became apparent however, that even as the theme song played in the background welcoming the start of a new episode, that both women’s minds were elsewhere. Waverly traced her fingers lightly up and down the arm draped over her stomach, stopping every so often to place a kiss on the pilot’s temple. The pilot would reciprocate by turning her head slightly and ghosting a kiss over Waverly’s collar bone. Slowly the signs of affection deepened and Waverly moaned quietly as the woman below her slowly sat up, moving to straddle her, and slowly began kissing up her neck. They gradually shed their clothes, and the television was soon completely forgotten as they lost themselves in each other.

__________

Waverly woke dazed as light spilled in through the sheer, white curtains of Nicole’s hotel room. She hadn’t intended to stay the night, but was definitely not disappointed she had. She wouldn’t have minded if it had been an innocent evening, but flashes of the previous night kept replaying in her head, and she kept blushing at the thought. She leaned up to check the time on the bedside table alarm clock and caught a glimpse of the very woman who kept making her blush. Although originally Nicole had nestled into Waverly’s side, she had now rolled away from her, opting to lay on her stomach, practically at the opposite end of the bed. The woman was “starfishing” though, as she had one of her hands stretched across the bed which was currently draped over Waverly’s abdomen and she also had a leg hooked with one of the brunette’s.

As the smaller woman slowly sat up to enjoy the view before her, three consecutive pings rang out from her phone sitting on the nightstand next to Nicole. Trying to figure out how to get to her phone without waking the woman she was currently entangled with, she began moving at a tortoise’s pace. After extricating her leg from the pilot’s grasp, she was about to move Nicole’s hand off of her stomach just as she felt the bed vibrate and then heard the laughter from the woman next to her. “It would just be easier if you asked me to hand it to you.”

Playfully shoving the other woman who had now rolled over to look at her, she began scolding her, “Well I didn’t want to wake you, thank you very much!”

The redhead casually sat up, still completely naked, and grabbed the phone next to her before handing it to a grateful Waverly. “Oh, I’ve been awake for like an hour. I have a weird morning routine where I get up super early to exercise, so my body has kind of adjusted to early mornings.”

“Why didn’t you wake me? Or at least cuddle with me?”

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to disturb you. Plus it’s like a million degrees in this room, and you looked like you didn’t need any extra heat.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and then leaned over and kissed Waverly’s bare shoulder. “Who’s texting this early?”

Looking down to her now opened messages, she saw that her sister was definitely awake and very ready to give her a hard time for not coming home last night.  

> _I take it you’re not taking Alice to school today._
> 
> _She just came in asking why your room is empty. She wanted to know why you didn’t come back after taking Nicole home. Also she won’t stop talking about Nicole. Did the pilot bribe her? Tell her I also take bribes._
> 
> _I told Alice that Nicole needed help deboarding her plane. Now she’s asking if you guys will be done in time to pick her up from school._

Rolling her eyes, Waverly offered, “It’s just my sister. Alice usually wakes me up every morning and she noticed I wasn’t there.”

“Oh. Sorry about that,” Looking anything but sorry.

Waverly leaned over and kissed Nicole’s cheek, sparing both women from the morning breath they were sure to have and then whispered in her ear, “Sure you are,” before leaning back and typing out her reply. 

> _You did NOT tell her that. And tell her I will definitely be there. Ask her if Nicole can come too._

She soon felt the redhead lay back down and scoot towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist in the process.   

> _Of course I did not tell that to my child! I did tell that to John when he asked where you were this morning, though._
> 
> _And Alice just said she “was hoping Cole would come. She likes Sour Patch just like me.” It turns out the pilot definitely DID bribe her then. Interesting._

Waverly moved a hand to casually run it through the red hair next to her and continued to type. 

> _Stop it. She didn't bribe anyone. And be sure to tell Alice that I love her!_

 

> **_I_ ** _love you too, ass. Be safe. Don’t pull a muscle with your crazy lesbian sex._
> 
> _Also, Alice says she loves you too. <3 _

Now finished, Waverly set her phone down next to her on the bed and then looked over at the woman below her, “I need to take a shower. Can I use your things?”

Nicole smiled against the brunette's chest without opening her eyes and simply responded, “Of course. Care for company?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon: Nicole is the little spoon. 
> 
> You all are amazing! Seriously!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per requested, I tried to incorporate more Wayhaught only into this chapter. It’s tricky not focusing too much on one interaction so I can keep the story moving, but still providing enough detail to keep the content interesting. Hopefully this is okay! :)
> 
> Oh, and there is a very brief reference to homophobic parents. Skip the Wynonna part if that isn’t your thing.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Waverly, currently reading the news on her phone, was growing anxious at the woman sitting across from her at the coffee shop.

“Like what?” She could tell the redhead knew exactly what she was talking about, but was playing into the admonition.

“I don’t know. Just with your adorable eyes staring with your adorable face. I’m trying to read.”

“But I want you to pay attention to _me_.”

“Hey, you’re the one who took that call. I can’t help it if I got caught up in this fascinating article while you were away.” She gestured innocently to her phone screen.

“Fine... fine. I’ll wait.” The redhead set her chin in her hands, palms cradling her face with her elbows propped up on the table and continued staring while the younger woman went back to the article before her.

“Gah! Stop it.” Playfully kicking at the redhead under the table she put her phone down, making a mental note to finish the article later. “Who was your call from anyway?”

“Work. They offered me a shift tonight.”

Dropping her gaze, Waverly hesitated before asking, “Do you need to go?”

Feeling the the calm hands of the redhead lifting her chin, Waverly looked up to an encouraging smile awaiting her gaze, “Heavens no. I promised you two days. I’m staying. So what do you want to do today?”

“Well, I couldn’t think of anything exciting in particular, but what if we went to the park and had a picnic? Super cliche date, but the park’s here are amazeballs and it’d be a shame if you didn’t see at least one.”

“I’m in as long as you’re there.” She flashed her signature dimples and moved to cross her legs under the table, running the top of her foot against Waverly’s calf muscle.

“If I have to be…” She leaned forward and grabbed the hand of the woman across from her, placing a kiss to the back of it. “Let’s run by my house. I can make us PB&J.”

Hesitating before responding, Nicole finally let slip an “Um…”

Using her free hand, Waverly pointed at the woman across from her. “-NO. You cannot tell me you don’t like PB&J. That’s something _EVERYONE_ likes.”

There was another pause followed up by a, “This is awkward, maybe I should go?” She halfheartedly moved to get up from the table as the hand still holding hers yanked her back down.

“Fine. We’ll figure something out,” Waverly offered as she stood. Using the hand still had intertwined with the redhead, she yanked again, this time pulling up. “Let’s get going.”

__________

“I am just nervous. I was so sure after that interview, they seemed to really like me, but it has been over three weeks now and I haven’t heard anything. Plus I am still waiting on a response from UCLA and Northwestern. What if they don’t pick me, Nicole? I’ve always wanted this and I feel so helpless right now.” Waverly was currently laying with her head on Nicole’s stomach, fiddling with her car keys nervously. Both women had just enjoyed a long stroll along the water's edge, holding hands and walking in a mostly comfortable silence and were now resting on a blanket after a mid-afternoon picnic at the park.

“Hey,” the redhead, who had been laying with both hands behind her head, shuffled a bit to free one of her hands and intertwine her fingers with the woman sprawled across her. “I haven’t known you long, Waverly Earp, but one thing I do know about you is that you are the smartest person I’ve ever met. You’re multilingual, you’re embarrassingly good at Words With Friends, you know so many cool facts about history and the world. I mean, listening to you at the museum was such a turn on. You’re just so bright, and the best part is that even though you are all of that, you are so humble. I am not a betting woman, but I am 100% willing to put money down that you will receive notification from at least one of those schools that they want you for their program.”

A tear slowly rolled down Waverly’s cheek and she turned her head slightly the other way, trying to hide it. “You’re just saying that to get in my pants,” she added with an unenthusiastic laugh. While mostly joking, she couldn’t help but let the vulnerability she felt from her past experiences slip into her statement.

Moving to sit up, Nicole carefully repositioned Waverly’s head to her lap and smiled down at the woman below her. “Hey,” she said as she wiped the stray tear from her eye, “I mean all of that. Plus I’ve already gotten in your pants twice today, so it’s definitely not that. I promise I would say that even if we were just friends.”

Wiping another tear away, she looked away again. “Fudge nuggets, Nicole. How are you even real?”

“Me? Do you need me to detail all of the great things about you again?” Leaning down, the redhead ghosted a chaste kiss to the lips of the brunette.

“Please don’t.” At that, Waverly sat up. “We should probably get going if we are going to get to Alice’s school on time. She is not. a. fan. if you are even a minute late.”

Moving to her knees NIcole added, “Oh, we definitely can’t have that. I don’t want to lose my spot as her new favorite.”

__________

“And then Levi said ‘a girl like me couldn’t ever make it to the top of the jungle gym.’” Alice, sitting in her booster seat in the back of Waverly’s Jeep was animatedly talking about her day. “But you know what I did?’

“No?” Nicole was practically turned around completely, listening intently to the young girl’s story as Waverly drove the pair home.

“I climbed it, right in front of him too. And then I hopped off and walked away because the recess bell rang. He didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.”

“That was his loss. You are such a bada-” Stopping abruptly at the side eye she was getting from the driver she corrected, “You are so tough!” At that the redhead leaned back, offering a high five to the little girl.

“Aunt Wavey, are we still getting ice cream?”

“Yeah Aunt Wavey, are we?” The redhead added in a pleadingly, playful voice as she looked from the little girl to her aunt.

“You betcha! We have to do your homework first, though, kid.”

“Noooooooo.” both girls groaned collectively.

Reaching over and squeezing the thigh of the woman next to her, Waverly quietly mouthed _Stop It,_ before taking her hand back to shift into neutral and slow to a stop in her driveway.

Stepping out of the car, Waverly turned around to see the redhead opening the door for her niece, who promptly leaped into her arms.

She heard the pilot, now cradling the six year old on her hip, whisper to her, “Let’s hurry fast so we can go get ice cream.” She in turn nodded vigorously at the statement, and then the pair took off running towards the house.

Shaking her head, Waverly closed her door and headed to unlock the front door for the girls currently laughing heartily while spinning in circles on the porch.

__________

“So Haughtbody, how long have you been flying?”

Nicole nervously sipped her glass of wine, now sitting on the couch of the Earp home. Wynonna had just arrived home from work and was now grilling the pilot as The Lion King played in the background, Alice switching between watching and attempting to build an airplane out of legos.

“Um… Almost 17 years personally. 7 years professionally.”

“Interesting.” Wynonna took a long sip of her whiskey before continuing, “And why such a large gap in between? Oh, and in how many cities do you have girlfriends?”

“Wynonna, this is not an interrogation. Stop going all detective on her.” Waverly, who had been playing with Alice on the floor, looked up to reprimand her older sister.

“It’s okay, Waves. I went to university stateside, fully intending to become a pilot as soon as possible. I got my degree in Aviation but had some family trouble in the meantime. They didn’t love having a gay daughter and I didn’t love their homophobic bullshit so we both cut each other off. So I came up here after graduation and kind of just wandered around for a while, trying to decide if I really wanted to be a pilot. It was just tied to so many childhood memories, and I didn’t know if I wanted that pain attached to my career.” Pausing to take another sip, she sighed before continuing, “But then I met this girl, Shae.” At that, Wynonna’s eyebrows raised in alarm, shooting daggers at the pilot before looking at her sister and flashing an ‘ _I told you so’_ look. Nicole, opting to ignore the terrifying Earp, continued, “She took me in, gave me back a family. They kind of helped me realize what I really wanted; that being a pilot wasn’t about my family. Even then, I still had to get back on track. That’s why it took so long. Oh and I have _no_ girlfriends in _any_ cities. I do, however, have this one girl in Calgary I’m pretty into. If that’s what you’re looking for.”

Waverly, already having heard this story, flashed an ‘ _I told you so’_ look back to her sister, before getting up, grabbing the now empty wine glasses from the coffee table in front of Nicole, and moved to the kitchen to refill their drinks.

“Okay Haughtline Bling, you may have won Waverly and Alice over, but I’m not so easy.” Quickly smiling at the unintended innuendo, she immediately straightened her face out and continued, “If you hurt any of the girls in my life, I will go all Liam Neeson on your ass.”

“Language, momma!” rang out from the girl on the floor, still preoccupied with her legos and movie.

“Sorry. _Butt_.” She smiled down at her daughter before turning a steely glare to the redhead. “I own guns,” she leaned in to whisper, but Waverly caught the tail end of the statement as she was walking back into the room.

“Nonna! Stop it!” Waverly sat next to Nicole this time, handing back a now full wine glass and playing idly with red hair while giving her best evil eye to her older sister.

“What? Just watching out for my girls.” She threw her hands innocently in the air, losing a little whiskey in the process.

“Nicole wouldn’t hurt a fly. Leave her alone.”

Relieved to have the calming presence of the woman next to her, Nicole leaned forward and grabbed her phone off of the coffee table to check the time. “I better get going, Waves. I have an early flight. I’ll get an Uber to take me back to my hotel.”

“Nonsense! You can stay here tonight. I’ll take you back to your hotel in the morning.”

Nicole looked over at the oldest Earp, still glaring at her from her place on the recliner and offered, mostly for her own protection, “No, I really don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing if you’re wanted here Nicole. And ALL OF US want you here.” She flashed a look to her sister before leaning in to whisper the last part in the redhead’s ear, “Plus, I don’t want to say goodbye just yet.”

“Yeah, Cole! You can stay with me, I got stars on my walls. They glow at night.”

Laughing, Waverly interjected, “Maybe she should stay with me, sweetie pie. You’re growing big and strong and starting to take up more of your twin bed. I think she’ll have a little more room in my bed.”

“Oh yeah, like a slumber party! Good idea, Aunt Wavey. I’ll go get my pillow!” At that, the six year old jumped up and sprinted up the stairs. The women still in the living room listened as the young girl opened her door and shuffled back and forth across the hall, presumably carrying her bedding into her aunt’s room.

“Well, that did not go how I intended. Is that okay?” Stopping the hand that had been playing with the redhead’s hair, Waverly moved to trace a finger across Nicole’s exposed collarbone.

“You guys are gross. I’m going to my room. Don’t keep my daughter waiting, we both know she’s got my temperament when she’s bored.” At that, the room was left to the two women.

“We should get up there.” Waverly said as she leaned in to press a deep kiss to the pilot next to her.

“Do you really not mind? I don’t want to be a bothe-” at that, she was cut off by another long kiss, this time the brunette had moved to straddle her lap, hands playing once again with the redhead’s hair.

“Stop it, Nicole.” Slowly moving her hands down the pilot’s body under her, she leaned in to suck on her pulse point. A moan escaped Nicole’s lips and she groped Waverly’s behind before quickly shifting their bodies so that the brunette was now laying flat against the couch. Right as she went in for another deep kiss, an angry voice rang out from the stairs above.

“I’m waiting, guys!”

Laughing, Nicole carefully stood, grabbing Waverly’s hand and helping her up in the process. “Guess we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

__________

The drive to the hotel was a somber occasion. Both girls had lacked a good night’s sleep, Nicole due to the tiny head that had used her stomach as a pillow, and had also turned nonstop throughout the night, and Waverly who had been kicked in the ribs all night long by her tiny niece. Alice had insisted that she come to the airport to make sure Nicole got there safe, but after a promise that Nicole would be back very soon from Waverly, and an offer from Nicole for her to come see Calamity Jane in Toronto after Alice was out of school for the summer, she had agreed to settle in with her mom in her room downstairs, catching a few more hours of sleep before the sunrise. The two women had stopped for a cup of coffee at McDonald’s on their way and were now nursing two large lattes, trying to prepare for a departure neither was quite ready to accept.

Slowly walking into the hotel room to pack up, coffee still in hand, Waverly sat down with an _oomph_ on the bed. “Um… Can I ask you a question, Nicole?”

“Totally. I have one for you too, but you first.”

“Okay. So this is weird. So don’t judge me. Like, I know we aren’t in high school, but like, this-” Waverly’s hand moved rapidly, motioning in between them both, “-is unconventional. Like, I usually don’t meet a person from a completely different province who flies to completely different countries every day for work. And then that person keeps flying places to see me, because I’m just me, you know? And like, that is big, and then I didn’t think I’d like you so fast.” Nicole, realizing the trajectory of the conversation, bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a grin and let Waverly finish. “And I don’t exactly know how you feel about it, like, I have an idea, but I don't want to _presume_. And I don’t know if you have, but I’ve not been dating anyone these last few weeks.” Flustered she took a deep breath and finished her last thought, “Anyway, I was kind of maybe wondering if like we could make this-” motioning in between both women again, she finally finished, “-like, a thing?”

At that, Nicole finally let her laugh out. Waverly frowned and immediately mistook the action for bad news. “I’m sorry, it’s too soon. Damn it, Waverly. You knew you’d mess this up. I can just go. But shoot, you need a ride to the airpo-” Nicole, wanting to silence the ramble spilling out of the brunette’s mouth, took a turn silencing the other woman with a kiss.

Pulling back slightly, she smiled deeply. “You’re adorable. Also, you say “like” a LOT when you’re nervous. And I’d _love_ to be your girlfriend, Waves. At least, that is what I am presuming you meant by ‘make this like a thing.’” She made air quotes at Waverly’s statement with a chuckle and was quickly greeted by a lighthearted swat to her behind by the younger woman.

“Of course that’s what I meant, jerk!”

“Just wanted to make sure.” Still smiling, she leaned in one more time to kiss the soft lips of her girlfriend before she stepped back and continued gathering her things.

“Nicole?” Waverly, still slightly nervous, fidgeted with the lid of her now empty coffee cup.

“Hmm?” Distracted, Nicole looked up briefly.

“ _You_ wanted to ask _me_ something?”

“Oh yeah, I know it’s only a week away, but I have next Monday off and then I’m on reserve for the rest of the week. I may get called out, but hopefully not. If your work is still slow, I was wondering if you’d like to fly out to Toronto?”

“I’d lov-- like to. I’d really like to!” she beamed.

“Oh good. Shae wants to meet you. In fact she’s texted me nonstop about it since I got back from New York. It might be a little weird since she’s my ex, and she’s an even bigger jerk than me, but we love her for it.” She winked, letting Waverly know she was kidding, but wanted her to know it was completely up to her so she added, “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“If you survived Wynonna, I can survive Shae. Plus, I want to meet hot doctor and thank her for accidentally bringing us together.”

Nicole quizzically raised an eyebrow before Waverly continued, “That’s the picture I liked when I _cyber-researched_ you. The one of you two at her graduation.”

Realization dawned on Nicole’s face, “Oh, THAT one. Yeah, we broke up not long after that. I have always wondered if I should delete that one.” Nicole walked over, placing her hands on either side of the woman on the bed, “But I guess it’s good I left it up, if it brought me to you.”

Waverly leaned over, setting the empty cup on the bedside table before leaning back and grabbing the leather jacket the redhead was wearing and yanking her down on top of her. “How much time do we have?”

“Not enough.”

“I’ll make it work,” at that the young brunette hungrily started kissing her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the deal, as we’ve already discussed, it’s a lot of fluff. I guess I’m not good at writing angst. I think it is mostly because it’s sad, and I don’t like being around too much sadness. That being said, I LOVE reading angst. But writing it? Not my jam, at least in this story. Weird, I know. :) Also, story-wise, it’s a new relationship so both people are putting their best foot forward, so to speak, so it makes sense that there isn’t much drama yet. But sometimes when I’m writing it I’m like, is it too much? And then I’m like, nah. But you all let me know. Feedback is helpful. :)
> 
> Hope you have a great day! You definitely make mine!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If I named my chapters this one would be called "I miss you."

Hurrying her way through the airport, Nicole realized that maybe she didn’t have enough time for the activities she had just indulged in. But the brunette she could now call her girlfriend was just so eager, and sexy, and energetic, and passionate. And Nicole was definitely going to have to work on establishing strict time frames, because there was no way she would ever be able to say no. And it did not help matters that she had no desire to say it either.

After running up to a gate agent in staggered breaths for the second time since meeting the history buff, she was able to secure a spot on the flight and head home. After sitting down in her seat, she pulled out her phone one to send off the promised ‘I made it’ text to Waverly. She smiled when she saw she had a message waiting for her from the young Earp. 

> _You’re perfect. Thank you for coming to see me. :*_  

__________ 

> _Home. Also this lady sends her love._

Waverly laughed aloud when she was greeted with a picture of an angry cat, perched atop a bathroom counter with shredded toilet paper all over the bathroom floor.

Hitting the call button, she was excited to hear her favorite voice, “Hey, Baby!”

Thrown off by the untested nickname, Waverly faltered in her response, “Hel - Hi - Fudgenuggets. Hi, laaadddyyy.” Silently slapping a hand to her forehead, Waverly immediately regretted her choice of pet name. “Nope, nope, nope. Do not like that at all. I take that back and I am starting again. Hello, sexy…” Now embarrassed at her fumble and awkward recovery, Waverly was now sure this conversation would be the end of her. “You know what? While 100% accurate, that’s still not it. I’m going to workshop this and get back to you, is that okay Nicole?”

Smiling at the entire monologue from her girlfriend, Nicole had paused in her efforts to clean up the mess in front of her and was sitting on her bathroom tub trying not to laugh.

“Do what feels natural. And if you don’t like baby, let me know, yeah?”

“Oh no, it’s great. Trust me. Just… I’m awkward.” Hesitantly, Waverly decided to add for good measure, “Maybe get used to it, okay?

“Well I for one find you adorable, and I don’t ever think you’re awkward. So it’s all good.”

Her reassuring tone brought comfort to the already horribly embarrassed brunette. “Oh, thank heavens. And I am so glad we got the ‘I’m awkward’ conversation out of the way so soon.”

Laughing silently, the redhead stood and continued her cleaning, occasionally glancing up to roll her eyes at her cat, proudly watching over her toilet paper kill. “Sooooo, what are you up to?”

“Just cleaning up toilet paper and having a stern chat with CJ, you know as you do with one’s cat.”

“Nicole, she seems terrifying. Is she going to like me when I come out?”

“If I’m being honest? No, not at all.”

“NICOLE.”

Laughter was audibly pouring from the redhead at the other end of the line. Finally taking a breath, she added, “But, if it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t like me either, and I’ve known her for five years.”

“That kind of does, yeah. Does she tear up your bathroom often?”

“No, normally she’s with Jer or I close the door. But I was rushing out when I left and I totally forgot. This is really my own fault.”

“Good to know. Is there anything I can do to get on her good side?”

“Hmm… she’s a big fan of paper bags and boxes. You could bring her either of those.”

“Good to know…” She trailed off, trying to decide if she really wanted to add the rest of her thoughts to this conversation, fearing that she would make it weird again. Deciding to add it anyway, she pressed on. “Thanks for coming to visit me. I kinda miss you already.”

“I miss you too, Waves.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. I know you have a flight you have to get ready for. Talk to you later, honey bunches… nope. Not that one either. I swear, I’ll work on it.”

“Bye, babe.” The smile on the other end was evident at that statement.

At that, Waverly flopped down on her bed, resting the crook of her elbow over her eyes and shaking her head at herself.

__________ 

> _Hey, I have news. Call when you can?_

Waverly had been repeatedly rereading the message she had sent for the last two hours. It was like she was trying to will her girlfriend to call, but to no avail. She was becoming increasingly frustrated as she had gotten a “busy case, can’t” from Wynonna and nothing from Nicole. Even Gus hadn’t answered when she called. Of the three, Waverly had given the older woman a pass for not answering, as she had said something about driving into Orlando to take an iPad class at the Apple Store. Now pacing in her kitchen, Waverly was almost frantic.

_It’s not like I just received the biggest news of my life… so far at least. But it’s no big deal. Nobody probably cared anyway._

Deciding that her worry was getting her nowhere, she opted to put her phone down on the kitchen counter and refocus her mind very adrenaline. Quickly running up to her room to change into a pair of Asics, running shorts, and sports bra, and making a stop into the bathroom to pull her hair up in a ponytail, she ran back down, grabbed a pair of headphones and started off on her run.

__________

“Baby Girl! That’s fucking amazing!”

Wynonna had gotten home late, late enough that Alice had just fallen asleep, but the older Earp’s exuberance was loud enough that the now official PhD candidate had to reprimand her.

In semi hushed tones, she gave a stern look. “Shhh Nonna, you know Alice will make you put a dollar in the swear jar if she hears you. And thanks! I literally jumped for joy when I read it. It was lucky I was alone, honestly. It was quite embarrassing.”

“Sounds like you. But I am so proud. We are going to miss you, but you deserve this. What did Haught Blooded say about it? New York’s much closer to her.”

“I haven’t heard from her yet. Getting kind of worried, actually. She normally checks in by now.”

“Haught In Here is probably flying. Damn, Baby Girl. You’re going to be a doctor. If it wasn’t a work night, I’d say we should celebrate. Put me down for drinks at the bar on Friday? John wanted to take Alice fishing in the afternoon and was going to keep her overnight, so I’m free.”

“Deal. I should get up to bed. I have to head into work early tomorrow. Oh and Alice knows you’re taking her to school in the morning. She said she is expecting your waffles before school, so I pulled the waffle iron down for you already. And don’t forget that you need to present in the morning to her class. Her teacher gave me the reminder slip when I picked her up this morning.”

“Right. Shit. Hmm… I’m going to run back to work. I forgot to grab those sticker badges off of my desk, mind listening for her while I’m gone?”

“Not a problem, drive safe.”

Leaning forward and offering a hug to her sister, her heart was warmed when the older Earp, normally unaffectionate, squeezed her tight and then placed a quick kiss to her cheek before ending with an, “I’m so proud of you, Waves.” And at that, she grabbed her keys and was gone.

__________

Waking up in the morning, Waverly was worried when she still hadn’t heard from the pilot. She had shot off a quick, “Hope to hear from you soon, have a goodnight!” before bed and had expected a response by morning, and was distressed to not find one waiting for her.

Hopping in the shower, doubt had begun to creep up in the PhD candidates mind. As she let the hot water flow over her lithe body, she found she was lost in her own thoughts.

_What if she’s ghosting me? I fly out in a five days. Should I still be planning on that? What if it was all too good to be true?_

The shower took longer than it should have, forgetting that she had places to be this morning and had to hurry and toss on a sundress and pull her still damp hair up into a bun. As she grabbed her phone and ran out the door, she felt it vibrate in her palm and looked down to see an Instagram notification from a familiar name. 

> _Aerohaughtics has sent you a message._
> 
> _Hey littlewearp, I left my phone in Oklahoma. And did you know there is such a thing as a “cloud” now. At least, that’s the lecture I got from the lady who helped me set up my new phone at the Apple store just now. Who knew? Anyway, I lost all of my contacts so I don’t have your number anymore. And I know this is crazy, but here’s my number, call me, maybe?_

She had included her phone number, the same one that Waverly had been waiting to hear from for the last 24 hours. Quickly dialing the redhead who picked up immediately as she hopped in her jeep, she found she was midlecture before her girlfriend even had a chance to speak. “Did you know I thought you were dead? I kept checking the news but there was nothing about a plane crash. And then I thought, what if she doesn’t really like me and was using a lack of response to break up? So I’ve been in full blown panic mode. And now you show up with Call Me Maybe lyrics? You are such a dork.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before the redhead answered, “I - I would _never_ do that to you, Waverly. Ever.”

Thrown off by the calm tone of the pilot, Waverly softened, “I… I know. I just… I guess I was scared. I haven’t ever done long distance before.”

“Hey, can we Facetime?”

Shyly Waverly agreed and switched the call over to the pilot now looking at her, who was obviously sitting at the airport. “Hi, babe,” the brunette offered before deciding to use humor to diffuse the situation she had unintentionally made tense. “So, Carly Rae Jepsen, huh? Big fan?”

Giving a smile that didn’t reach her eyes but still showcased the hint of a dimple, the pilot said, “Hey, Waves. I’m sorry.”

“For what? I mean, you explained yourself. Made perfect sense. You did nothing wrong.”

“Well obviously I’ve done something wrong if you thought I ghosted you, or just disappeared. Look, I know we haven’t been dating long, and I get that this is an unconventional situation, but I promise you just because my job takes me all over doesn’t mean I’d ever use that as a way to escape.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured. It must’ve just been a default of mine to go to. I’m sorry for not trusting you.”

“Now you’re the one apologizing unnecessarily.”

“But it kind of fee-”

Cutting her off, the pilot smiled, “Seriously, you’re allowed to feel that way. Just tell me. So you’ve done nothing wrong, I promise.” Pausing and smiling a full smile that reached her eyes this time, the redhead continued and the tone of the conversation took a much lighter cadence, “Now, how was your day yesterday?”

Suddenly remembered her big news she had been waiting to share for almost 24 hours now, her eyebrows practically shot up to her hairline and her free hand excitedly slapped her face. “Oh fishsticks! I have big, big news!”

“What!?” The pilot, channeling the same energy straight from the excited Earp, perked up immediately.

“I heard back from Columbia! I am totally in, Nicole! I actually heard back from UCLA too, but I think I want to take the Columbia position. It’s closer… to family.”

Nicole noticed the break but chose to ignore it, as the PhD candidate had obviously brushed over it on purpose.

“Babe! That is amazing! You are such a genius. Like, my girlfriend is going to be a doctor one day. Doctor Earp, how sexy does that sound?”

Blushing and looking away, Waverly batted at the air shyly, “Stop it baby, you’re making me blush.”

“Seriously, you deserve to make a big deal of this! What’s fancy?” She gently tapper her finger on her chin as she thought, “Oh I know! Let’s get dressed up and I’ll take you out for the most expensive seafood I can find in Toronto.” There was a bright smile, followed quickly by a puzzled look and a “Wait. Do you like seafood?”

“Love it. Good choice.”

“I am so, so proud. I don’t honestly know if I can say it enough.”

“Thanks, Baby. Gah, I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Waves.”

There was a short pause, one in which Waverly was obviously thinking, and then a realization occured, “Can we acknowledge the fact that I called you baby and didn’t make it awkward? I think I found one. Kinda stole it from you, but you can deal.”

“Oh yeah, you’ve actually done that quite a bit this conversation. I didn’t want to point it out because I didn’t want to make it weird for you. I’m a big fan, though.”

“Oh good. And I know you’re probably about to get on a plane, and I have to get to work, but can I say how hot you look? That hat and jacket, and your crisp white button up.” At that, Waverly wolf whistled.

The pilot blushed a bright red and then offered, “Are you objectifying me, Waverly Earp?” as Nicole was enjoying being openly flirted with by a girl she cared deeply for.

“Me? I would never!” There was a wink and a gap and then a “Hey, I have to get to work, but call me when you land?”

“Totally. Talk to you soon, babe!”

__________

Nicole’s work schedule since the day she had lost, and subsequently had to replace a cell phone, had been mostly night routes. Waverly’s schedule, although mostly free, was the complete opposite so she could continue helping to care for her niece and finalizing things at work. This left precious few moments in the morning as Waverly was waking up and Nicole was placing a do not disturb sign on her hotel room door, and blocking out as much light as possible, to have a conversation. Such was the case the day before Waverly’s scheduled visit to Toronto.

“Hey, Baby! Where’d you fly today?” Waverly was currently sitting up in bed, nursing a cup of coffee.

“Um. I went from Toronto to JFK, JFK to Chicago, and now I am currently ready to pass out in a hotel room in Minneapolis.”

“Oh, that’s exciting! Well, not the passing out part, but the Minneapolis part. You should go to the Mall of America! I’ve always wanted to go there! Did you know they have tens of thousands of live plants that act as natural air purifiers? And they released a ton of ladybugs instead of pesticides to keep aphids away from the plants. It’s fascinating, and very environmentally friendly. Plus they have shopping, if you’re into that.”

Smiling at the woman nerding out on the screen in front of her, Nicole simply responded, “You’re adorable.”

Feeling that all too familiar flutter Waverly was learning was a new normal in conversations with Nicole, she shyly added, “I know I say this all the time but I miss you. So much.”

Nicole reached to twirl her hair but stopped, remembering her recent cut making it too short to do so. “Me too. Just 24 hours, though. If you can get on the first flight out, we will be at the airport at the same time. If not, I’ll run home and grab a shower and swing back when the next Calgary flight comes in. The morning flight might be full because of business travelers, but sometimes it’s not. I’m hoping it isn’t so I can see you sooner.”

“Me too. But as long as I get out tomorrow, I will be happy. Now tell me about your day - well, night I guess. How did it go?”

“Oh everything went smooth. I got partnered with an asshole co-captain for the Toronto to JFK, JFK to Chicago flights, but luckily that’s where he’s from so I didn’t have to pick him up there. Then I got Rosie for the flight here. She’s flying Minneapolis to Ottawa, Ottawa home with me tonight, so I’m pretty excited about that. She lectured me last time I saw her about not making a move with anyone. She was more than happy to hear that I took her advice. I’ll have to introduce you some time, I think you’d like her.”

“I’d love that.”

“Me too. Now tell me, how was your sleep?”

As Waverly started in on a long story about the dream she had had about being stuck in a game you had to play yourself, with dire consequences if played incorrectly, Nicole laughed, “Babe, it honestly sounds like you’re talking about Jumanji.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a movie, from the 90s I think. They remade it just recently.”

“Hmm… never seen it. Well, maybe I saw it as a kid and forgot it. But the dream was so scary!”

“Really? I’m sorry. The movie used to be one of my favorites. I might have the old one on DVD. We can watch it while you’re here. It’s not so bad.” She yawned and began to rub her eyes but was unwilling to end the conversation.

“I’d really like that! Now go to bed. The sooner you sleep, the sooner you get to see me.”

“Good point. Have a good day, Waves.”

“Sleep tight, Baby!”

__________

_It’s just a series of buttons and levers. It’s just a series of buttons and levers._

Currently sitting in her seat as the plane was backing away from the terminal, she was running the detailed instructions Nicole had texted her about flying through her head. She knew once she was in the air, autopilot took care of most of the work, but the act of getting to that point still terrified her. And the fact that the plane would have to touch down again did not assuage her fears, either.

She was both cursing this terrible mode of transportation and happy that in just a few short hours she would get to see her girlfriend. That girlfriend had promised to be waiting for her at the airport when she arrived, as Waverly had secured a spot on the surprisingly empty first flight from Calgary to Toronto this morning.

As the plane made its final turn towards the runway, she grasped the armrests firmly as she closed her eyes, trying to think only of the beautiful redhead who would soon be waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, let me say that I love your comments. Like, when I say they make my day, I'm not even kidding. So, thank you for that. Truly!
> 
> Second, I don't love this chapter, but stuff happens here that I thought needed to. Some of the conversations in here felt a tad repetitive but timeline wise, they've been talking for about a month so most of the get to know you stuff has already been addressed. About now, the deeper stuff, like insecurities and such, starts to come out. Hopefully that's what you all gathered from these conversations, because that is what I was trying to convey. I'm relatively new at writing longer works (and 100% new to fanfic) so I hope I got that across. :)
> 
> Anywho, thanks for everything! You're all amazing! Have a good night!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole takes Waverly for a ride in her plane.

Nicole had made it to the airport an hour and a half before Waverly’s scheduled arrival time. As her plane had a few hours to sit before it was scheduled to depart again, she tried to kill her time by finishing up slower than normal.

Unsuccessful on buying any real time on the plane, Nicole opted to browse the airport gift shop looking for something she could give her girlfriend as a present. After walking the store twice, ensuring she had looked over every item possible, she opted for a bag of Hershey’s Kisses, hoping the gesture was not too cliche, and also added a water bottle at the last minute for herself. Unhurriedly wandering over to Waverly’s expected gate, she sat down and pulled out her notebook, carefully scribbling in it before tearing out the page and placing the book back in her bag.

Looking down at her watch, she checked the time and was excited to see that she just had a half hour until her girlfriend would be back in her arms once again.

__________

Not a fan of landings, or pretty much anything involving the last 3.5 hours of her life, in which she had spent thousands of feet in the air, she was now extremely grateful the large aircraft had made it safely onto the ground. Stowing away the book she had been halfheartedly reading the entire flight, she watched intently as the plane slowly made its way to the terminal. An overwhelming feeling had been clawing in the pit of her stomach for the last hour, realizing she was getting closer and closer to seeing the pilot with the big dimples and even bigger heart, she was now completely ready to be off this plane and in the other woman’s arms.

The plane moved at a seemingly glacial pace before finally making contact with the jetway. As the passengers around her stood up and slowly shuffled off of the plane, she waited patiently for her turn before finally standing herself and following the slow moving line, making sure to briefly stop to thank the pilot for getting her to her destination safely.

Practically sprinting towards the redhead in her black pilot’s uniform standing near the end of the walkway holding up a sign on lined paper that said _Waves_ in neat blue ink, the young Earp hit the pilot with enough force to send both girls stumbling back. Peppering her cheek with kisses, Waverly finally stopped to look into her girlfriend’s striking brown eyes, kissing her briefly on the lips and then leaned back into the hug, mumbling a “Hey there” and “I missed you.”

Once the greetings were finished, both girls headed towards the exit, luggage in tow. Nicole had reluctantly given Waverly her small wheeled bag to pull, and only after she had insisted, while the redhead happily walked with all of the other bags slung over her shoulders to the luggage carousel to grab Waverly’s checked bag. Nicole then led them to the employee shuttle and waited for the white van to pull up that would take both girls to the parking lot that housed Nicole’s car. After a short ride, the girls arrived at the parking lot and Waverly handed Nicole bags as she carefully stacked them in the back of her black Range Rover.

Climbing into the car, the young PhD candidate reached over with her left hand and grabbed the pilot’s hand, which had just left the steering wheel after reversing out of the parking spot.

“Did you know that of all of the things I’ve learned about you, this car is the most surprising thing?” The brunette casually mentioned while rubbing her thumb across the back of Nicole’s hand.

“Really? Why do you say that?”

“You just, and don’t take me the wrong way here, are so practical, Nicole. This car is... “ Trailing off while running her free hand over the practically untouched leather interior, Waverly was at a loss for words to describe the car which was now turning out of the parking lot.

Laughing shyly, Nicole glanced over at the girl currently gripping her right hand. “Are you saying you’re not a fan of Robin?”

“Robin?”

Squeezing Waverly’s hand before releasing and returning it back to the steering wheel, Nicole continued. “That’s her name. I named her after one of the characters from How I Met Your Mother.”

“Big fan, I take it, eh?”

“Yeah. She was kind of my first crush… and maybe the reason I was obsessed with that show.”

Trying to hide the tiny flare of jealousy that bubbled to the surface at that statement, Waverly pressed on, “Makes sense. So what year is Robin?”

“2017. I got her brand new. I’ve only had her for a few months, honestly.”

“So that’s why she smells so good. It’s that new car smell.”

“Yeah. When Mariska died --” Looking over and finding a puzzled look on the face of the girl next to her, she explained, “Mariska was my old Honda Civic I had been driving since high school. I bet you could guess who she was named after. Anyway, I test drove a whole bunch of cars, SUVs, and trucks. I had been saving for a new car ever since I got my first real airline job, so I had enough that I could buy a decent car outright. But my friend from New York, Mercedes, was tired of my constant practicality. She called me 'boring' and convinced me to live a little. So instead, I just used that money as a down payment and bought this.” She leaned forward and patted her dashboard lovingly.

Distracted with the array of buttons and knobs before her, Waverly realized the woman next to her had stopped talking so she quickly added, “Well, I like it a lot. Just surprised is all. This car is kind of, as the youth would say, extra.”

“Well, I hope it’s good that there are things about me that are surprising. Hopefully my house isn’t one of them. I tried to clean it the last time I was there, but as you saw with the bathroom pic of CJ, it’s not always in my control.” The pilot smiled nervously at the woman in the passenger seat before turning her eyes back on the road and changing lanes. She hadn’t had many women over to her home, and any woman she had brought home had been a one or two time deal, ensuring they were aware before coming over that any intimate interaction between them did not indicate a relationship. Waverly was the first person she was letting into her home, and to a bigger degree, her life, in a long time.

As if sensing the other woman’s hesitation, Waverly gently emphasized, “I’m sure I’ll love it, Nicole.” As an added gesture, Waverly draped an arm over the armrest between them and squeezed a muscular thigh reassuringly, opting to leave it there for the rest of the drive.

__________

Nicole’s house had ended up being unsurprising, much to Nicole’s relief. It was a modest two bedroom, two bath brick townhouse near High Park. Nicole had given Waverly a full tour, offering her the guest bedroom more out of chivalry than actual desire, and had gratefully been brushed off with a kiss and a “I want to sleep with you, silly.” After the tour, Nicole had left Waverly in the living room and had run upstairs to change out of her uniform and came back down to a shocking sight.

“Who’s the cutest on the planet? Who? Of course it’s you!” Waverly was now on the floor of Nicole’s living room, eagerly petting a red cat sprawled across her chest. As the cat purred gently at the attention it was receiving from the brunette, Nicole watched as she sat down on the couch, puzzled and a little angry.

“You little asshole.” She mumbled while taking a sip from the water bottle she grabbed out of her airport bag.

“Excuse me?” Waverly looked up, eyebrows knit in anger, ready for a fight.

“Oh no, not you, babe. Never you. But that cat has NEVER done that with me. I got a cat because sometimes it gets lonely living alone, but from day one, she refused to cuddle, let me pet her, or pick her up without some sort of bribe. For the first year it was strictly treat based but she started gaining weight and the vet scolded me. So I took her to a cat class, hoping we could work out another system, maybe even bond a little. I paid good money for it too, but nothing. Finally, I found out she liked boxes, so I made sure to always save my boxes for her. We eventually developed an understanding that we were more distant roommates than any sort of affectionate relationship. And you!” She pointed at Waverly for emphasis, “You’ve been here for literally five minutes, and she’s all over you! I am pissed, Waves.” Nicole, now done with her rant, stared angrily at the cat, who was batting at Waverly’s hands for attention.

“Sorry, Baby. What can I say, I guess redheads just love me.” She smiled proudly as she petted the cat and then quickly faltered, realizing what she had said, “L--Like me. I meant they like me, of course. I mean, not “of course.” I don’t _expect_ them to just like me. But I am definitely happy when they do.” Stopping before she continued rambling, she tried to hide her blush by scooping the cat up and shimmying onto the couch, placing her legs across her girlfriends lap and the cat across her own legs. “So what are we going to do today?”

As Nicole eyed the cat, who was currently giving her evil eyes from Waverly’s lap, she pondered. “Hmm… We should go get some lunch, something light because I made reservations at a restaurant downtown tonight to celebrate your big news. It’s not seafood, but a friend told me about how amazing this place is, so I hope you’ll like it. But, until then I came up with two activities for today. It’s completely up to you, and if you hate both, we can pick something completely different. I was thinking we could go to the museum. It’s huge and is full of cool stuff. I mean, I haven’t been in years, but it was full of good stuff last time I was there.”  She had pondered for a long time about what she wanted to do with Waverly on her day off, and was now almost nervous to bring it up. She fidgeted with her hands before continuing, “Or I was maybe wondering if you wanted to go up in my plane?”

Waverly, who had been calmy petting CJ while listening to her girlfriend uncharacteristically ramble on, froze at the offer. Both redheads, at the lack of movement from the young Earp, looked at her with curiosity.

“Waves?” Nicole lightly tickled the other woman’s feet, hoping to free her from her trance.

Startled, she replied, “Sorry. I guess... I mean, you have a plane?”

“Yeah, it’s the one from my Instagram. I have it in a hangar about 40 minutes from here. I don’t have time to take it out much, but she runs great and I was thinking maybe you’d want to see that flying isn’t so scary?”

Smiling awkwardly, Waverly nodded, almost forcibly.

“Are you sure? Your face is really telling me no, but the movement of your head is telling me yes. If it’s not okay I promise the museum is great too. Or, we can pick something else?”

“No. I have been trying to do more things that scare me. So this will be a good test. That’s actually why I asked for your number when we first started messaging.”

“I... I scare you?”

“Well, not anymore silly. But yeah.” She lightly slapped at the arm of her girlfriend, currently resting on her legs.

“Why?”

“You walked up to me in your sexy suit, all calm and such, with your cocky, dimple studded smile. And your charm. Don’t get me started on the charm.”

There was a small silence between the women before the redhead spoke up again. “Hm, that’s news to me. Sorry about that!”

“Oh no, it was the good kind of scared, definitely. The same kind I’m hoping this plane ride will be.”

Not wanting to do anything that the other woman would be uncomfortable with, Nicole added again, “Are you sure you are okay with it?”

“Yes, positive.” She forced a smile again, but nodded determinedly.

“Alright, let me go get some shoes on and then we’ll go.”

__________

Waverly was sure this was heaven. If conquering every fear was this rewarding, she was going to tackle them all. Currently sitting in a tiny plane flying high above the trees of Northern Ontario, she smiled at the pilot next to her who was naming the lakes below and making casual conversation, as if this was a regular road trip.

For Waverly’s sake, Nicole had made sure to point out every step of their flight, first, walking her around the plane and giving her a basic lesson on the aircraft. Next, after buckling themselves inside, she had demonstrated safety protocol, making sure to answer all of Waverly’s ‘what if Nicole became incapacitated and a _Hatchet_ -esque scenario ensued’ questions. After guiding Waverly through take off, she had ensured she was comfortable and then set her course. Waverly, now incredibly turned on by the fact that she was simultaneously being given a tour of stunning landscapes by her sexy pilot while also conquering a fear of flying, kept reaching over and playing with Nicole’s hair becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of affection she could give.

After a smooth trip home, both in the aircraft and in Nicole’s SUV, they had arrived back to the pilot’s modest home, intending to get showered and changed for dinner. Upon entering the living room, Waverly had halted Nicole from her intended path and grabbed her by the hand, moving her towards the couch, stopping only to gingerly move the cat from her current sleeping position over to a corner before forcefully shoving Nicole towards the cat’s previous resting place. She had then climbed atop of the curious pilot and had released every sexual frustration she had built up since their recent flight. Explaining why she had been so amorous only after collapsing on top of the spent, but very grateful redhead. Nicole had in turn repaid the favor a short while later in the bath, showing Waverly how much it meant to have shared something so dear to her, especially knowing that she had enjoyed the flight so much.

__________

The evening had gone better than Nicole had intended. The restaurant they were currently in sat atop the 54th floor of a building downtown. They ended up next to the window and Nicole smiled every time Waverly turned around to stare out at the sparkling lights in awe. Upon their arrival, she had ordered an incredibly expensive bottle of wine and had refused to let Waverly pick the cheapest thing on the menu, which she always tended to do, a habit she had formed during childhood, instead Nicole had insisted the brunette pick what she really wanted. After Waverly timidly ordered the Halibut, one of the pricier things on the menu, Nicole then made sure to let the brunette know that her order was okay by ordering a more expensive meal, opting for the ribeye and also placing a starter order of oysters.

Now waiting for their main course to arrive, Nicole was once again smiling at the woman across from her.

“What are you looking at?” The brunette had caught her staring this time, as she had abruptly turned around to ask a question that had just popped into her mind.

Leaning forward and placing a kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek, she finished by whispering into her ear, “Just focusing on how perfect my girlfriend is.”

As the redhead settled back into her seat, Waverly squirmed at the feelings stirring low in her stomach. “Hey now, turn down the charm. I’m trying to ask you a question and you know you’re going to distract me.”

Straightening up and offering Waverly the most serious face she could offer, she replied, “Sorry, what’s up?”

“When am I going to meet Shae?”

Nicole was thrown at the question. She furrowed her brow and grabbed for her drink. “Do you really want to? We can save that for next trip if you want.”

“No I really do! Remember, I want to thank her?”

Laughing at their previous conversation of her ex, Nicole replied, “Oh yes, you kept referring to her as ‘hot doctor,’” making sure to add air quotes at the end of her statement.

“Exactly, when do I get to meet hot doctor?”

“Let me text her.” She pulled out her phone, shooting off a quick text to the woman and once again picked up her glass of wine slowly sipping before adding, “You look stunning, by the way.” Appraising her girlfriends low cut and elegant sundress, she couldn’t help but look her up and down, once again.

“You already said that.” She said as she blushed.

“Well, I must really mean it then.”

“Stop it.” Her cheeks tinged a shade darker and she reached for Nicole’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “Do you seduce all of your girlfriends like this?”

“Oh no, just the super smart history fanatics who are going to fancy schools to get their PhD’s.”

“I didn’t realize there were more of us out there.”

“Nope.” She popped the P as she rubbed the hand of the woman still holding hers, “You, Waverly Earp, are one of a kind.”

Waverly blushed once again, not accustomed to this kind of attention and unsure how to handle it. She was incredibly grateful when dinner arrived and conversation moved onto topics that were not about herself. She caught Nicole up on Alice, informing her that the littlest Earp had named the pilot “her new favorite friend.” Nicole had checked her phone and confirmed that Shae was free in the morning, so they were going to meet at the pancake place the woman had wanted to try. They had finished off their bottle of wine and both girls, now a little tipsy, casually made it down to the street to their awaiting Uber.

After a short ride home, both women stumbled into Nicole’s home, locking the door behind them, and then began trading kisses and tugging at clothing while making their way up to the bedroom.

As Nicole slowly moved onto the bed and crawled up a now completely naked Waverly, she paused for a moment to appreciate the moment. Sitting back on her calves she smiled brightly at the woman who now meant the world to her. “You are so pretty and I like you so much.”

Reaching down and placing a light pinch on Nicole’s behind, Waverly replied, “You seriously have to cool it with the compliments, woman! Now get your sexy ass up here and kiss me.”

The redhead, eager to do as told, continued her quest, pausing momentarily when she heard a whisper ghost her ear, “I like you so much too, baby,” before returning to shower affection towards the woman below her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! Have a good weekend! 
> 
> Also, my last semester ever (until law school, I guess) starts Monday! Updates may be stagnant. That being said, I am GREAT at avoiding responsibilities, so maybe not. :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rest of the Toronto trip.

Nicole wasn’t sure why this breakfast was giving her so much anxiety. Perhaps it was the fact that she was introducing her girlfriend to her family, a move she had never done, or perhaps it was the fact that Shae’s sarcastic way of loving someone was the complete opposite way of Waverly’s gentle, tender approach. Either way, Nicole definitely wasn’t a fan. Walking into the diner hand in hand with the PhD candidate, the knot in the pilot’s stomach was growing. Trying to whisper into Waverly’s ear as they approached the table where Shae and her fiance were currently sitting, Nicole leaned over and mumbled, “Is this weird? This feels weird.”

Hitting the arm of the redhead, Shae who had obviously heard the remark, playfully replied, “It’s only weird if you make it weird, Cole.” Turning to greet the woman attached to Nicole’s hand, Shae put forth a hand, “You must be Waverly. I’ve heard great things.”

Opting to forgo the offered hand, Waverly let go of Nicole and embraced the Doctor in a tight hug before releasing and looking into her striking brown eyes. “It’s great to meet you, Shae. Nicole speaks very highly of you.”

“All lies, I’m sure.” She laughed and then moved back towards to the blonde woman who was standing near Shae, “Waverly, this is my fiance Eliza.” She then gestured towards the pilot and added, “Nicole, you already know everyone.”

After rolling her eyes at Shae’s constant sass, a trait Nicole both loved and hated in the other woman, she moved to pull out Waverly’s chair, ensuring she was fully comfortable before taking a seat herself.

“So Cole, no work today?” The Doctor began after everyone was settled and drinks were ordered.

“I’m on call today, actually. I have my bag in the car in case I get called out. What about you, Dr. Pressman?”

“I have the day off, finally! I feel like I have been working nonstop lately.” Shae looked over for silent confirmation at her fiance before proceeding, “Eliza and I actually have an appointment with a florist for the wedding today.”

Joining the conversation, Waverly asked, “When’s the wedding?”

“Not for a while. We have another ten months, but with Eliza’s school schedule and my work schedule we have to get stuff checked off when we can.” Shae then placed an arm behind her fiance.

“School schedule?” Waverly asked, looking towards the blonde.

“I’m a Criminology professor.” Eliza clarified.

“That’s amazeballs! I’m actually about to start my PhD in History at Columbia in a few months.”

Eliza, excited to be with another academic, excitedly replied, “I got my PhD in Criminology about three years ago. So technically I’m still a relatively new professor, but I am really loving it. Do you want to teach?”

As the two women began excitedly conversing about their respective career paths, Nicole and Shae looked over in awe.

“Well it seems like we’ve lost them.” Shae remarked before shaking her head.

“Why am I the literally the only one at this table who is not a doctor or doctor to be?”

“Cheer up, Nicole. At least we keep you around for your flight benefits.” She reached across the table with her free arm and patted the pilot’s shoulder.

Groaning, Nicole dropped her head to her hands as she remarked, “Why did I want to do this? I always forget how terrible you are.”

She felt a light kick to her ankle below the table and looked up to see the Doctor smirking at her, “You know you love me.”

“That’s beside the point.”

As the Doctor and pilot began catching up, Nicole smiled when she felt a familiar hand reach up and begin absentmindedly playing with her hair, all the while carrying on an in depth conversation with Eliza.

After breakfast was served and drinks refilled, discussion at the table carried a steady flow, with all four girls taking their time conversing.

“So Waverly, Nicole says you met in Calgary?” The professor asked.

“Yeah, she flew me out to New York for my PhD interview. I was actually sitting in the airport terrified of the flight, and then she came along and found a notebook I dropped and introduced herself. I don’t know. Just meeting her, I wasn’t so scared of flying anymore.” She smiled over at her girlfriend, watching her intently, “Nicole left to get the plane ready I just couldn’t get her out of my mind.  I… kind of looked her up on Instagram and found the picture of the two of them at Shae’s graduation,” Waverly gestured to both girls with a blush, “And when I was inspecting the picture closer I may have accidentally liked it. I panicked, debated fleeing the airport, but ultimately decided against it and just ignored her when I got off of the plane in New York. Luckily she saw the notification and messaged me.” She paused at the conclusion of her story before adding, “And if that isn’t a 2017 meet cute, I don’t know what is.”

“Interesting.” Smiling, Shae turned her attention towards the redhead, “I am _definitely_ going to take credit for this --” she gestured between the two girls, intertwined across from her, “then. About a week before she came back from New York all smitten, I had been telling her to put herself out there more. So yeah, you’re welcome, Nicole.”

Puzzled, Waverly added, “I have a hard time believing she hasn’t always been forward. She’s always doing and saying the right things. It just seems weird to think otherwise.”

“Oh no, Cole is normally pretty shy, huh Sweetie?” Shae then turned to look at the professor.

“Very much so. We took her out to a gay bar a few months ago hoping she’d meet someone and she did not move once from our table. Just kept sipping her drink and asking when we were leaving. You must be special, Waverly.” There was a twinkle behind the blonde woman’s eyes that Waverly found very reassuring.

Awkwardly rubbing her thigh to placate her uncomfortable feelings, Nicole chimed in, “Can we stop talking about me?” A hand reached over and stilled her movement, and the pilot looked up to see the brunette smiling at her.

“Yeah, actually we should probably go. Honey?” Eliza asked, looking towards the Doctor.

Checking her watch Shae replied, “Crap, our floral appointment is in 20, we are going to be late. We should definitely go.” She motioned for the check as Nicole reached over to drop her hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Shae. I have it, just go.”

“No Cole, I can’t let you do that.” The brunette began to argue.

“Seriously, let me.”

“If you’re sure?” she asked, not wanting to impose.

Nicole nodded before standing to hug the departing couple. She felt Shae pull back slightly from the embrace and whisper, “I like her” before kissing the cheek of the pilot and pulling away. Moving onto Waverly, Shae hugged her tightly and then said, “I’m so glad I got to meet you. You’re even better than Nicole made you out to be, and that’s saying a lot.”

Blushing, Waverly pulled away and thanked both women, making sure to get Eliza’s number before letting them leave so they could continue their conversation about academics later.

“Well… that was horrible.” Nicole offered as they sat back down waiting for the check.

“Stop it. I loved it. It was good to hear a different side of you. Shy Nicole, huh?”

“Lies.” But the blush in the redhead’s cheeks gave way the real answer.

Leaning over and kissing her cheek, Waverly added, “I’m just happy you’re not shy around me.”

__________

The rest of the week past by in a blur. Nicole was called out a few times, leaving Waverly her car and recommendations of places she might enjoy. Waverly took advantage of the free time to tour the Royal Ontario Museum, go for a run in the nearby park, explore the conservatory, and bond more with CJ, much to Nicole’s chagrin. With Nicole’s time not spent working, both women did as many activities as possible, while still ensuring Nicole could make a quick exit if called into work. They saw a movie, went bowling, played tennis, watched a lot of Netflix, and spent a healthy amount of time in bed. After guaranteeing she would not be called out on Thursday afternoon, Nicole took Waverly flying again at dusk. They watched the sun set in the plane and followed it up with a candlelit dinner at a Mexican Restaurant in the city. Waverly was grateful that the time at Nicole’s home had felt natural, and she was sad to see her week ending.

Two days before Waverly was scheduled to come home, both women Facetimed Alice, who caught them up on everything that was happening back in Calgary; how she had shown off her dad’s real cowboy hat for show and tell and all of the kids wanted to try it on, how Aunt Gus was coming back next week and bringing her back a gift from Harry Potter (World, but she didn’t quite understand that yet), and how much she was missing Aunt Waverly’s hugs. Before ending the call, she made Nicole promise to come back before her Aunt Waverly left for school, which Nicole wholeheartedly agreed to.

Now both women were on their way to the airport, Nicole dressed in her captain’s suit heading out for a three day shift that would take her to the United States and Mexico, and Waverly heading home to Calgary.

“I think if I trade a few shifts I might be able to make it out to Calgary for a few days in two weeks?” The pilot remarked.

“As much as I’d like that, I don’t want to put you out Nicole.”

Making sure she was at a complete stop at the red light before kissing Waverly’s cheek, she replied, “It’s not putting me out if I want to do it, Babe. Plus, I promised Alice and I can’t let her down. She seems like she’d hold tiny grudges.”

“Oh definitely. She’s just like her mom in that regard.” Grinning at her girlfriend, now pulling into the parking lot at the airport, Waverly let out a sigh. “I’m sad this week is over.”

“Me too. But thanks for coming. I really appreciated having you here. Plus, it was good to learn CJ has the ability to bond with a living person, not just boxes.”

 Not sure if it was truly a compliment, Waverly furrowed her brow before responding, “Glad I could help?”

“Oh it’s a good thing, definitely. I used to worry she’d kill me in my sleep. Knowing she likes you, I may have an in with her now. She has to keep me around if she wants to see you again.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Waverly replied while rolling her eyes.

Both women hesitated, the car was parked and it was time to head to the shuttle, but neither was ready to leave.

“So I was wondering --” “Just two weeks, then?” They both began at the same time.

“Sorry, you first.” Waverly offered.

“Um, well -- I know you haven’t found an apartment yet and it’s still a ways away, but I have some time saved up at work and I need to put in my requests early… I guess what I am trying to ask is, would you like help moving?” A little thrown, Nicole’s rehearsed speech was not executed as planned.

Grinning at the fumbling of her usually cool girlfriend, Waverly nodded. “I’d love that, Nicole. Wynonna is always at the mercy of her cases so I was worrying she’d be busy and I didn’t know how I’d get all my stuff there. That’s so sweet of you to offer.”

“Any excuse that leads me to you, I’m happy to offer.”

Blushing, Waverly replied. “You’re so smooth. It drives me crazy sometimes.”

“Hopefully in a good way?”

“Definitely in a good way. Two weeks, yeah?”

“Two weeks. If you want, I can fly out there and visit Alice for a day and then we can hop a flight to New York and go look for a place to live?” Realizing how that sounded, Nicole clarified, “For you to live, I mean.”

“That sounds great!” Waverly, noticing the shuttle pulling up gestured towards it, “Shall we?”

As both women headed towards the airport with the warm feeling of Waverly pressed against Nicole’s side, the pilot felt the urge to say three words she hadn’t said in a very long time. Looking over at the brunette, curled into her reading a history book on her phone, she wondered if it was too soon. The last five weeks knowing Waverly had felt like a wonderful gift. She couldn’t imagine a day where she wouldn’t want to either wake up next to Waverly, or wake up with some sort of greeting for or from the woman. On the other hand, she worried about putting herself out there. Although Waverly seemed to be fine with her job, many significant others of pilot’s found the relationship to be difficult, and she didn’t want to put Waverly through that, or have her heart broken if Waverly couldn’t handle it. As the shuttle approached Waverly’s terminal, the pilot, reluctant to put her heart on the line, decided to wait.

Stepping out to help Waverly with her bag, she leaned in for a kiss. As she moved to pull away she felt lips ghost her ear and an “ _I love you_ ” was softly spoken from the other woman before she abruptly turned and headed through the sliding glass doors of the airport. 

Standing awestruck and with a heart now full, the pilot only moved when the driver, clearly annoyed, asked if she was ready to go. Hopping back in the van and pulling out her phone, Nicole decided to open Instagram, shooting off a simple message to Littlewearp. 

> _I love you too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure how this little idea that kept coming to me eventually turned into this 70 page thing, but I think it has something to do with how amazing you all are. Seriously, I'm THE WORST (read: soooo awkward) with compliments, and I 100% mean that.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump road trip.

“Hey Babe?” She was hesitant to ask, but she knew she needed to.

There was a long lull before Nicole heard a “Hmm?” from the other woman.

“Want me to drive?”

“No… no I’m good.” She said as she yawned for the third time in the last 90 seconds.

“I’m pretty sure you’re not.” Nicole said, hoping she was saying it as gentle as she meant it.

They were currently a little over 12 hours into their 40-hour drive in Waverly’s Jeep, packed full of her belongings, heading towards New York. It had been three months since Waverly had come to Toronto to stay with Nicole and a little over four months since they had met. The couple was closer than they had ever been. Waverly had given up her research assistant post in Calgary two months ago so that she could spend her last few months before the move with loved ones. She had capitalized on this by flying out and staying for a month in Toronto. Nicole had spent the first few days introducing Waverly to her friends so she would have friends to spend time with while she was away on long trips. As she had originally predicted, Jeremy and her had hit it off immediately, bonding over academics and a love of Lord of the Rings. The two of them had several movie nights while Nicole was away and had even gone to the gay bar during one of Nicole’s trips, with Waverly showcasing her excellent wingman skills for Jeremy.

Nicole had also been to Calgary three times as well. One time was simply a one day trip because Alice had invited her to go along on the day Waverly was scheduled to take her to the amusement park. Alice had insisted that day that Nicole ride the swings with her so many times that the redhead had actually had to run to the restroom to throw up. Afraid to disappoint Alice by not going on the swings again, Nicole had opted to divert her attention by bribing her with a slushy practically the size of Waverly. She had loved every moment she could spend with Waverly and her family in Calgary, and felt her heart growing every time she was with them.

Nicole was glad that everything felt right between the two of them. Originally hesitant to let Waverly into her life, she was finding she didn’t want to think of a world where the woman didn’t exist now. Waking up to a “good morning” Snap every day, usually of Waverly’s head under a pillow with Alice talking in the background or sometimes of Calamity Jane sprawled out between Waverly’s legs in Nicole’s bed, was quickly becoming her new favorite tradition.

Now looking over at the woman next to her, she was met with an angry glare from the brunette.

“I am not tired, Nicole. I told you this an hour ago.” Her tone was sharp and her eyebrows were furrowed.

“Baby, that was ten minutes ago. I know you wanted to drive until we got to the motel, but we still have another two hours. Please let me drive.”

“No.” Her answer was firm and Nicole was now trying to decide what to do.

She had been dating the woman long enough to know that she was incredibly independent and had a mild stubborn streak. She had noted that Waverly did not like when she thought someone was trying to coddle her. Their first real fight had been for this very reason.

A month ago, Nicole, on a flight from San Francisco to Toronto had to make an emergency landing in Denver when her plane had engine problems. She opted not to tell Waverly for fear that it would scare the younger woman, already afraid to fly to begin with, away from the act completely. A week later at dinner with a group of Nicole’s work friends, Rosie had brought up the situation and bragged about how well Nicole had handled herself, the crew, plane, and passengers. During the story, she looked over to the PhD candidate’s hurt expression and immediately regretted not telling her about it herself. On the drive home that night, Waverly had asked why Nicole had kept that from her and she explained that she was worried that it would upset her because of her fear of flight. Waverly had said she understood but when they got to Nicole’s home that night she had went straight to bed. When Nicole climbed in an hour later, instead of being cuddled into by the younger woman, something she usually did when Nicole came in late, she was met with a cold shoulder. The next morning Nicole, still half asleep had subconsciously rolled over and scooted towards Waverly who immediately jumped out of bed and got into the shower. The move had woken Nicole up fully then, and she knew she needed to address the issue before it spiraled out of control. When Waverly got out of the shower and walked back into the bedroom, hair towel dried and messy still wearing Nicole’s robe, Nicole had asked if they were okay.

“We’re fine.” She had walked away then and Nicole had gotten out of bed to follow her.

Walking into the bathroom, she tentatively approached the woman brushing her damp hair. “But, you see, we don’t _seem_ fine.”

“I told you we’re fine, so we’re fine. Drop it, Nicole.”

At the use of her full name, a move the history buff never did now that she had picked up on Shae’s use of “Cole” or her preferred pet name “baby,” Nicole knew they were anything but fine.

Now frustrated that the shorter woman would not talk to her, she snappily responded, “We’re not, _Waverly_ ,” adding emphasis to let the brunette know she had picked up on the use of her full name.

And at that, all hell had broken loose. Waverly had begun yelling, claiming that if Nicole didn’t trust her and hadn’t treated her like a child, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Nicole had inferred that if Waverly was going to have childlike fears about flying, she couldn’t be held responsible if she treated her like one. Waverly had then said that if Nicole was not going to trust her with things like emergency landings and plane diversions that maybe they should just end it now and save them both the hassle. By then, the fight had carried back into Nicole’s bedroom where Waverly, at her last statement, had thrown on clothes, grabbed her phone and wallet and had stormed out of the house.

Nicole, panicking and unable to get ahold of the other woman, had worried all day long, and had even been as desperate as to text Wynonna, a woman she was still desperately trying to win over, if she had heard from Waverly. This had resulted in a string of expletives from the cop and a stern “if you hurt her I know people that can end you,” and absolutely no confirmation that Waverly was in fact, okay.

That night at 8 pm, she heard a quiet knock on her front door and sprinted up to answer. She was overwhelmingly relieved to find Waverly standing there with her arms wrapped protectively around her middle with red puffy eyes.

“Oh, Waves.” Nicole had simply said before enveloping her in a hug and crying for several minutes on the shorter woman’s shoulder before finally bringing her in the home and sitting on the couch to discuss their fight.

Waverly had explained that she had been treated like a child her entire life, and had become very sensitive about it. After their parents and older sister had died in a car accident when Waverly was six, Wynonna and her had been sent to live with their aunt and uncle. Although incredibly loving, they had treated her like the young, scared six-year-old that had shown up with a teddy bear, her older sister, and a social worker on their front porch, her entire life. Wynonna, fearful Waverly would lose the innocence that was not offered to herself, protected her fiercely. Waverly loved Wynonna’s passion for her, but hated how she was sometimes overprotected by the fiery cop. She then proceeded to explain that Nicole not telling her as a means of protection had struck a nerve and she had retreated so she could process. When Nicole had prodded, Waverly lashed out.

Nicole had understood the entire thing completely and had apologized profusely for keeping such an important detail from her, promising never to do it again. She had also tentatively asked Waverly’s statement about ending their relationship, to which the other woman had explained hadn’t been said in truth, only to punish Nicole and she apologized for handling her emotions in such a poor way.

They had ended their fight with one final ‘sorry’, an ‘I love you’, and then a kiss, which turned into another kiss, which then turned into several hours of lovemaking. Waverly, while coming down from one of many climaxes that night, had suggested they fight more often if they were going to have this passionate of sex and had said “the best sex is makeup sex, right?”

Nicole had laughed and heartily agreed this was very heated, but had said she wouldn’t mind if they stuck to their regular, non-makeup sex, which she was a huge fan of, as well.

Snapping out of her thoughts before they got any racier, Nicole looked back at Waverly who was clearly exhausted and now driving progressively slower on the highway. Deciding she couldn’t let her current situation go on any longer, she decided to speak up.

Using her best stern, but not condescending voice, she began, “Waverly, you won’t ever get your PhD and we won’t get to do that _thing_ you want to try if we die on this freeway in the middle of nowhere Nebraska. Pull over and let me drive for both of our sakes.”

At that, there was a blinker and the vehicle moved off of the road onto the shoulder before the woman hit the hazard lights and hopped out of the car. Nicole, astonished that had worked, sat there for a moment before she felt her door open.

“Well? Are we going to sit here or are you driving, Miss Bossypants?” She had her arms crossed now and an unreadable expression on her face.

Hurrying to unbuckle her seatbelt and jump out, Nicole was stopped when Waverly grabbed her and pushed her against the back-passenger door, kissing her hard on the lips. “That was super sexy. Now let’s get going, it’s not safe to be on the shoulder for long.”

At that, Nicole felt a pat on her behind before the brunette hopped into the passenger seat, shut the door and buckled up, all with Nicole still standing stunned on the side of the road. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this little update is okay. :) It was fun to write. Let me know if you liked it!
> 
> Also, sometimes I reread chapters and I catch my grammatical mistakes and they are TERRIBLE. So thanks for reading even though I make embarrassingly bad mistakes sometimes (which I try and correct ASAP when I find them.)


	17. Chapter 17

“I just… It’s been a while.” She sighed into the phone, walking down the narrow hallway that housed her tiny office, trying to balance a stack of books that came up to her eyes, while also holding the phone in between her ear and her shoulder.

“I know baby, I know. I promise I’m trying. No one’s really willing to trade shifts around Christmas and I got dealt an unlucky hand.” Nicole’s schedule had been taxing on their relationship, to say the least. Having spent so much time together during the summer and during their nine-day trip to get Waverly settled into New York, the women now realized how precious that time had actually been. Now that Waverly was officially studying for her thesis and Nicole’s schedule was, well, hectic, the women hadn’t seen each other in person in almost a month.

Tripping over the tear in the carpet that Waverly kept forgetting about, but had insisted was her newest arch nemesis, all of the books she had recently acquired from the library went tumbling forward and she threw her hands against the walls to brace herself, dropping the phone in the process.

“Son of a nutcracker!” She yelled.

“Waves? Hello? Baby? Are you okay? I heard a loud noise.” Waverly heard Nicole pleading into the phone from the floor below while she stood gathering her breath, coming down from the rush of adrenaline after her almost fall.

Kneeling down and grabbing the phone she quickly caught Nicole up on the situation before her. “Baby, I kinda have to go. I dropped the entirety of the history section from the library just now and I have to clean it up. And… I’m not going to have time tonight.”

“Oh—oh, okay.” Waverly could hear the disappointment in the redhead’s voice and it made her feel worse about the situation.

“I’m so sorry. I know I should have told you earlier and I know Thursday nights are usually our Netflix date nights but I am really close to finishing gathering what I need for this section. Just, promise to not watch without me, okay?”

“Never. Well... I guess I’ll let you go. Love you.”

The disappointment in Nicole’s voice was apparent but Waverly could tell she was trying her hardest to be the supportive girlfriend she always was.

“Love you too, Cole. Text me in the morning, okay?”

Hearing a slight pause from the other woman, she was relieved when she finally heard a, “Will do, baby. Bye.”

There was a pang of guilt as Waverly hung up the phone. Every Thursday night since Nicole had dropped Waverly off in New York and had driven her Jeep back to Toronto to store, they had watched three episodes of The Office together, usually via Facetime but occasionally Nicole would make it out to see Waverly in person. Usually they would both order pizza, laugh at Michael’s antics, Nicole would always make a comment about how Dwight reminded her of a pilot she was sometimes paired with, occasionally they’d let the show play in the background and they’d just chat. It was Waverly’s new favorite tradition but her research was picking up and she was finding herself less and less at her apartment, a tiny two bedroom she shared with a man named Perry she had found on a bulletin when Nicole and her had toured Columbia on their trip to find an apartment. He was working on his PhD in Finance and they rarely saw each other, especially lately now that Waverly was really hitting a groove in her studies. Nicole sounded especially sad tonight, even off, about missing the tradition and it hurt Waverly that she was the reason for it.

As she finished collecting her study materials, she felt a ping come from the phone now in her pocket. Expecting the text to be from Nicole, she was surprised to see a message from Wynonna, or more specifically Alice. She opened to a picture of a selfie Alice’s little hands had taken in her bedroom at home and had added “Love you” underneath. She smiled deeply and then laughed when she saw another text come through, this time obviously from Wynonna saying, “Little turd took my phone and ran.” She felt a tear make its way down her cheek when another selfie came through of both of them with the caption, “We both love you.”

She’d be lying if she said this experience had been easy. She always knew leaving Wynonna and Alice would be hard, she had loved living with them and watching her niece grow up. She had been around since Alice had been born, working on her undergrad then. On nights that she was cramming for finals, she would spread out next to Alice on the floor; while the infant played with a play mat on the floor, she’d be working on an essay. After she learned to walk, Waverly had moved to the table and would talk Alice through her study prep. It was hard being away from both girls, and the whole experience had gotten even harder after she had met Nicole. Originally expecting to only feel the loss of her sister and niece (as well as some close friends back in Calgary), she was now finding she missed Nicole the most.

Standing up and reaching down to gather up the books she had just restacked, she vowed that she was going to try and hurry through her research tonight. If she was lucky, she might be able to catch Nicole with enough time that she could at least talk to her again, if not put on a full episode together.

__________

Waverly was not so lucky. Awakening with a start, she wiped the drool off of her arm and rubbed her eyes before looking over at the clock on the wall.

“2:15 am! Dammit.”

She sat there for a moment gathering her bearings and deciding if she was going to sleep on the tiny couch in the lounge at school or make the 20-minute journey back to her apartment. She checked her phone, hoping for a text from Nicole, and finding nothing, before she decided that her apartment was the better option.

She pulled out her pepper spray since she would be walking alone late at night and shoved her notebook and laptop in her messenger bag, taking off for the subway station.

Hurrying to get out of the cold winter air, Waverly made her way through the darkened streets and ran down the steps to the station, waiting only a few minutes before her train pulled up and she took a seat. She checked Instagram and smiled at Nicole’s story, a picture of CJ sitting in an H&M box near Nicole’s front door.

_Boy I miss both those ladies._

She smiled she thought of her girlfriend and her cat as she shoved her phone in her bag and got off of the train, making her way to her apartment.

Unlocking her door and making the short route down the hallway, she noticed that Perry was out, no doubt still at school and it would just be her tonight. She didn’t like that part of the arrangement, as the apartment was eerie and she never really liked living alone, anyway.

_Maybe I should get a cat._

She walked into her bedroom, not bothering to turn on the light, she toed off her tennis shoes and dropped her coat on the floor before stripping and walking over to the dresser and grabbing an Ellie Goulding tour t-shirt Nicole had left the last time she was here. She threw it over her head and lifted up the covers before sliding in.

Waverly was exhausted, the long day and stiff sleep on her desk had caught up to her and she quickly felt her eyes fluttering closed. She was almost out when she realized she had felt something move and a foot was now touching hers.

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

Waverly punched at the lump she now realized was lying right next to her before deciding to exit. Throwing her muscled arm towards the uninvited stranger she felt her fist connect with what she assumed was face and she heard a familiar voice yell, “OW, WHAT THE HELL!?”

Moving solely on adrenaline, she had already begun to escape from her bed when she processed that she recognized that voice. Unfortunately, one of her feet had gotten caught in her sheets in the process of her quick escape, she had gone tumbling to the ground with one foot still stuck on the bed and the rest of her body lying in a heap on the floor.

She heard a click of the lamp on the lump’s side of the bed and a redheaded woman sat up and leaned over the bed, looking concerned. 

“Um… Surprise?”

Quite confused at the situation, Waverly squinted at the woman above her. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a layover and I wanted to surprise you.”

Waverly sat up and began extricating her foot from the makeshift trap that was her sheets.

“Well, you definitely did. That’s why you were so sad when I said I couldn’t do date night, huh? You were already here.” 

“Yeah, I didn’t want to interrupt you by telling you. So, I used the key you gave me and just waited for you to come home. I was trying to wait for you but I guess I fell asleep.” She furrowed her brow before continuing, “But are you okay, Waves? I’m so sorry I scared you! I could tell it was bad too, because you actually cussed. You hardly ever swear.”

Waverly shook her head lovingly at her girlfriend’s attentiveness and thoughtfulness. “Am I okay, baby? I punched you!” Waverly, now sitting with her legs crossed under her was back on the bed. Leaning forward she brushed her thumb along Nicole’s swelling eye. 

The other woman’s breath hitched and she winced with her good eye before responding, “Yeah, totally fine.”

“No you’re not! You just flinched when I touched it! Let me go get you an ice pack.”

“You don’t have to do that!” She heard Nicole say, but she had already opened the door to her bedroom and walked out, pulling her t-shirt down as much as possible to cover her bum in case Perry walked in. She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed the blue ice pack she threw in with her lunch box she packed for school. Nervous that she was not wearing pants, she quickly ran back to the room and shut her door again.

Nicole, now sitting up on her bed and obviously awake, smiled her dimpled smile at her, which was now partnered with a swollen eye.

“I missed you,” she said from the bed.

“I missed you too! I’m so happy to see you,” Waverly said as she grabbed a t-shirt from her dresser and wrapped it around the ice pack before sitting and gently placing it on Nicole’s eye. “That’s probably going to be black in the morning. When do you work again?” Realizing she hadn’t properly greeted her girlfriend, she leaned forward and placed a quick peck to Nicole’s lips before she could answer.

Nicole took over holding the ice pack and smiled at the unexpected kiss before responding, “Tomorrow at 2 pm.”

“Oh no! You’re going to have a black eye for your flight! Dang it. I ruin everything. You try to do this nice thing and then I ruin it by staying at school too late and then when I get here I punch you in the face and.. is that going to get you fired? Nicole I am the worst girlfrie—“ Waverly realized she was cut off by Nicole’s lips on hers. “nd ever.” She slowly finished after the kiss ended. “That’s my favorite way you stop my nervous rambling,” she added.

She heard chuckling from the redhead before her face got serious, “Listen to me. You didn’t ruin a thing, Waves. I probably should have told you I was here instead of trying to do this romantic gesture.” She looked shyly up and pointed, and it was then that Waverly noticed a bouquet of flowers and some tea lights that had obviously flickered out.

“Fiddlesticks, I missed sexy time?” 

That incited a belly laugh from the pilot. “I love you.” She leaned forward and kissed Waverly long and slow, slipping her tongue into the brunette’s mouth and grabbing at her hip with her hand that wasn’t currently holding the ice pack on her eye. After breaking apart, she continued, “See, still plenty of time for sexy time. I didn’t want to tell you I was here because I didn’t want to interrupt your studies. That’s much more important.”

“Nothing is more important than you, Nicole.”

“Not true. I know I haven’t known you for too long, but I know how important this degree is for you. Plus, I’m super proud, so I want you to stay focused if you’re onto something. But next time, when I feel myself drifting off, I’ll shoot you a warning text that I’m here.” She finished with a smile and then a yawn.

She looked over at the clock, noting it was now 3:30. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?”

“No. I promised you sexy time.” Nicole almost looked like a puppy pouting.

Waverly cupped the cheek next to her ice pack and rubbed it softly with her thumb. “How about we table that idea for when you can see out of both eyes?” 

“Fine.” She then took the ice pack off of her eye and set it on the table next to her before turning off the lamp.

Waverly moved under the covers again, this time aware of the presence of another person. She laid down and scooted over to Nicole and placed a hand across the other woman’s stomach who was currently lying on her back. She reveled in the heat of her favorite bonus blanket, her girlfriend.

“Baby?” She said into the woman’s chest.

“Yeah, Waves?” She heard Nicole mumble.

“Wanna get breakfast in the morning? I can go in late and we can go try that place I was telling you about.”

“That sounds delightful.”

Waverly could hear the smile in the other woman’s voice and she squeezed her in a pseudo hug. “I love you, Cole.”

“Love you too.” She mumbled once more.

Waverly, still pumped with adrenaline, laid there awake for a while listening to her girlfriend’s breath even out, appreciating the wholeness she always felt when the pilot was near.

__________

“And then I accidentally punched her, Wynonna!” Waverly was sitting on her bed, talking to her sister via Facetime, waiting for Nicole, who was in the other room showering.

 _“Good, that idiot deserved it. How did she even get into your apartment? You said Perry wasn’t there, right?”_ Waverly watched as Wynonna walked into the break room at work and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Stop calling my girlfriend an idiot. And she has a key for when I’m at school and she’s got a layover in New York.”

_“Sounds like an idiot to me. Who falls asleep in another person’s bed without telling them first? What is she, Goldilocks?”_

“It was sweet and if you don’t stop it, I’m going to hang up on you.”

_“You wouldn’t dare.”_

Waverly knew the look she was giving her older sister was enough to answer her statement, but she threw in a stern, “Try me,” before she saw the older woman soften.

 _“Fine. Sorry. I know “we” like her,”_ Waverly watched as the other woman used her hand not holding the phone to make air quotes at the use of the term ‘we.’ _“So I’ll be nice. Listen, Waves, I gotta go but can you call Alice tonight and ask her about her test? She said you helped her with it last week and I know it’d mean a lot to her if you checked in.”_

“Of course, Nonna. And remember I’ll be there in a week from tomorrow. You’re coming to get me from the airport, right?”

_“Got it in my calendar, Baby Girl.”_

“Okay. Be safe, Wy. I love you.”

 _“I love you too! And tell Goldihaughts to warn you next time.”_ Before Waverly could scold her sister again, she quickly hung up, just as Nicole was walking into her room, currently wrapped in a towel and carrying a brush over to the mirror above Waverly’s dresser.

With raised eyebrows, Nicole paused brushing her hair and turned to ask, “Why is she calling me Goldihaughts?”

Waverly knew Nicole was embarrassed about the whole situation, and was constantly reminded of it whenever she passed herself in the mirror and saw her now very black eye, or accidentally touched the bruise, which would cause her let out a cry of pain. Earlier that morning, Waverly had been the cause of one of those times. While enjoying the redhead between her legs, she had reached down in a particular heated moment to connect with her and instead of placing her hand in her hair, had missed and brushed her cheek, causing Nicole to pull back quickly. Waverly, feeling sad for her girlfriend, had made sure to take extra care of the woman when Nicole, who had insisted she wanted to keep going, had finished with her.

“Oh, no reason.” Waverly responded coyly, knowing the pilot knew her lying face, but hoped she wouldn’t push the subject.

“Mmkay.” She could tell Nicole knew she was lying but was grateful she didn’t continue the matter.

Watching as her girlfriend dropped the towel, Waverly wolf whistled as the pilot reached in her bag for a pair of underwear.

She turned then, blushing and walked over to her. Biting her lip, Waverly smiled and tugged at Nicole’s arm, bringing her lower. “You’re so sexy.”

The pilot closed the distance then and kissed her, before moving down her neck, and then back up to nibble on her ear. Waverly, hungry for more contact, pulled Nicole down onto her and quickly resumed kissing her girlfriend passionately before she heard a rumble from her stomach.

_Hm… I guess I’m the regular kind of hungry too._

Nicole laughed at the noise and moved off of Waverly, who quickly pouted. “We both need food.”

“You’re probably right,” She said as she watched the redhead continue getting dressed, “But that’s boring.”

“Sorry, baby.”

She paused before she decided to go through with a question that had been on her mind for a few days, even more so after ending her call with Wynonna. “Hey, Nicole?”

“Yeah, babe?” The other woman said as she was pulling a pair of black jeans on and grabbing her Raptors hoodie.

“Do you want to come to Christmas at my house? I know you said you only have Christmas eve and half of Christmas day off, and I’m not sure if you’re going to Shae’s but I’d like for you to be there if you can.”

As Waverly watched her finish tying her white Converse, she smiled when the woman quickly responded, “I’d love that!”

“Great. Can I say, I’m really loving dating a person who can hop on a plane on a whim?”

“One of the perks of the job, babe. The other is meeting smart, beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, genius professors to be who sometimes drop their books on the floor and have a killer right hook.” She laughed as she finished her statement.

“Oh, so we’re laughing about it now?” She was skeptical but grinning.

“How can I not? I am Goldilocks after all.”

She giggled as she stood up and grabbed her coat off of the floor. “You heard that?”

“No, but I put two and two together. Wynonna may not like me, but you can tell her I think she’s hilarious.” She heard from her girlfriend as they both moved towards the front door.

Waverly smiled and grabbed her girlfriend’s hand before leading them both out of the apartment and into the city to go enjoy the rest of the precious time they had together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all are having a good weekend!


	18. Chapter 18

“You’re not serious?” Nicole was incredulous, staring at her girlfriend’s mischievous smile on her laptop screen while laying on her hotel room bed.

“Dead.” 

“Which is what we’ll be if you get your way.” She mumbled, but it was clearly picked up by the PhD student.

“Come on, baby. Nonna did it when she was younger and she loved it.”

“Waves, I just don’t think bungee jumping is going to cure a flying phobia.” 

Choosing to ignore her plea, her girlfriend persisted. “I was talking to a psych professor here over lunch last week and he said it might.” There was a slight pause before she continued, “Well, technically he said ‘face my fears head on.’” She made air quotes with her hands as she scrunched up her face before looking back at her girlfriend with her adorable smile. “And what’s a better way to do that than bungee jumping? I mean, skydiving maybe. But god, that’s terrifying. At least this way I’ll be attached to a rope. 

“Okay, one, I’ve been skydiving before, it’s not so bad. And two, do you really want to spend the 72 hours we have together dying on the Las Vegas strip? And not even the good part of the strip, you’re talking the 110-degree pavement.”

“Yeeeepp.” She said as she popped the p for emphasis.

She knew her girlfriend was serious, but she was not so easily convinced. Always the unflappable person, Nicole credited that to years of practice dealing with tricky and sometimes frightening situations thousands of feet up in the air, training herself to know better than to let her nerves rein over her, but _this,_ this was threatening to overtake that stoicism. 

Deciding to let her cocky demeanor break for the woman who was currently holding her heart anyway, Nicole softly replied. “Waves… It’s just… well, maybe I’m a little… scared, okay?”

There was a long lull as Nicole hid her head in the pillows on the bed. After a moment, she dared lookup to her girlfriend, who she found was smiling lovingly at her through the screen. “Hoooollllly. Crap. This is your kryptonite? You’re so brave and cool and smooth and I’ve found your weakness?” Waverly was the incredulous one now, clearly fighting back a laugh.

“Don’t make fun of me.” Nicole knew she was pouting but she couldn’t help it, choosing to bury her head back in the pillows.

“I am not. It makes me love you more, to know you have a fear.” Her tone was reassuring but the topic definitely was not.

“I have lots of fears!” She mumbled through the pillows.

“Sure you do.” The sarcasm seeped from the woman on the other end of the call and Nicole looked back up then, puzzled.

“Of course I do, Waves.”

“Tell me what they are then, because from my perspective you don’t. From here you look like the sexy airline pilot who called me out on cyber stalking you –“

“You cyber _researched_ me.” Nicole corrected playfully.

“— Fine, cyber _researched_ you. You’re the one who took me up in your private plane and said all of the right things. The one who stood up in the middle of our Law and Order SVU binge and casually picked up that spider with your bare hands and took him outside. WITH YOUR BARE HANDS, NICOLE!” Her arms were flailing now, just as they had been when she was screaming from the back of the couch as Nicole had walked the spider from the coffee table to her front porch and deposited calmly down on her front step.

Laughing at the memory, the pilot cocked her head to the side and offered, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Waverly, obviously thinking, looked towards the ceiling for a moment before looking back. “What if we still go to Vegas?” The panic was evident in Nicole’s face and her girlfriend quickly moved to assuage those fears. “ _You_ will stay on the ground and watch out for me and I will bungee jump. It’ll be like I have my own cheerleader. And we can still go see Celine like we wanted.”

“I guess that’ll work. But I don’t love the idea of you doing it.”

“It’ll be fine, baby. I looked into it. We’re much more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the hotel than I am jumping off that building.”

“Not much more reassuring, Waves.” She smirked as she continued, “But I’m in. Only because I want to be _your_ cheerleader.” Both girls blushed at the memory of Waverly’s performance over Christmas, one in which Wynonna had accidentally walked in on when she left work early that day and had walked into Waverly’s room, unannounced, to see why the music was so loud.

“I pulled that old uniform out special for you, you know.” Waverly supplied in a suggestive tone.

“Well I sure as hell hope so. It’d be weird if you were wearing it around for John, who I’m glad I finally got to meet. He… is a different man, by the way.”

“Yeah, he talks and dresses a little differently, but that’s part of his charm. Plus, Wynonna loves him.”

“…Speaking of things that terrify me.” Nicole muttered. It was no secret that Nicole was petrified of the police officer who was fiercely protective over those she loved, one of which was not yet Nicole.

Waverly cupped her cheeks with both hands, lovingly exasperated at the pseudo feud between the two women. “We’ve been over this Cole, Nonna wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“That’s not what she says to me. Every single time I see her.”

“She likes you, in her weird way.”

“She’s threatened my life! On multiple occasions!” Tone rising to meet the panic she felt when thinking about the older Earp.

“Technically, you did take the last roll at Christmas dinner without asking. That’s your own fault.”

“I did ask! No one heard!” She quickly retorted, tossing her hands up in the air.

The playful banter continued for a while before Waverly, yawning, broke it off. “Hey baby, I’m so sorry to go, but I have a meeting at 7 am and it’s midnight here.”

Nicole was finding the time difference was currently the hardest part of their relationship. They had found a groove to Nicole’s weird schedule, but the constantly changing time zones put a damper on their nightly calls, making communication difficult sometimes.

“Oh crap. I didn’t even realize. Yeah, go get some rest. I love you!”

“I love you too. Text me when you get to Toronto tomorrow, mmkay?” She yawned once more, but smiled at the end of it.

“Will do. Night Waves.”

After the call was ended, Nicole shut her laptop and rolled over in bed, grabbing the remote from off of the nightstand and turned on Netflix. She was surprised when her phone, sitting next to her laptop, vibrated. She shook her head at her girlfriend’s text.

> [Waves] _Still not over finding your kryptonite_
> 
> _Stop it. Go to bed._
> 
> [Waves]  _Love you :*_
> 
> _Love you too, baby_

__________

“This is a terrible idea. Why did I let you talk me into this? I’m going to die up here, Nicole.”

Waverly was suiting up inside the top of the tower, preparing for her jump now. Choosing to ignore her girlfriend’s implication that she had _anything_ to do with her current predicament Nicole began her reassurance. “Baby, you are the bravest person I know. You moved to a new city to start a prestigious program. You started dating some random pilot who saw you across the terminal and was looking for any excuse to be able to talk to you. You are helping raise your niece, who is the smartest little kid I’ve ever met. You are amazing. You’ve got this.” She leaned forward and kissed her cheek and then quickly added in a whisper, “That being said, if you want to bail, I 100% will not judge you.”

“No… no. No?” Nicole watched her girlfriend, now practically muttering to herself, as she debated her options. “I mean, I can. But I did pay good money for this. And I’m supposed to face my fears head on.” Screwing up her face in determination, Waverly looked the most assured Nicole had ever seen her. “I’m doing it. Now go. I want to see you at the bottom.” She stopped, then shook her head before quickly adding with a blush, “Phrasing, Waverly,” before she leaned over and patted Nicole on the bottom in a shooing motion. “Go.”

Nicole quickly made her way down to the small crowd who had gathered to watch below, knowing if she didn’t hurry she would be cutting it close to watch the actual jump itself.

She made it just in time to see her girlfriend jump, and she did her best to cheer as loud as possible for her from below. After landing safely on the ground, the small woman practically knocked her over after having her harness removed, sending both of them stumbling back.

Waverly leaned in for a kiss and then said, “I did it!" 

“You definitely did.” Nicole was beaming with pride as she locked her hands behind her girlfriend’s waist.

Waverly threaded her fingers in the back of the pilot’s hair, playing with the loose curls as she spoke, “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you here.”

“I bet you would have. But I’m glad I got to be here for it.”

There was a devilish grin and then a quiet, “Your turn?” from the younger woman.

“Never in a million years. Nice try, though.” She laughed as they made their way towards the exit.

__________

Nicole sat down on her bed and pulled her laptop out, facetiming her girlfriend who had just shot her an _I’m home_ text.

“So, did it help?” Nicole asked after the PhD student picked up, while she attempted to pet CJ, who was giving her evil eyes next to her on the bed.

“Hi CJ! Aren’t you adorable! I just love you, yes I do.” Came from the woman through the screen. The cat’s interest was piqued and she walked over to see her favorite person, allowing Nicole to pet her twice before she stalked off, angry at the unwanted attention from the redhead. “What do you mean?” Waverly then continued after the cat’s departure.

“I mean, do you feel like flying isn’t as bad after jumping off of a building?”

“I mean, it still terrifies me. But…” Cheeks turning red as she trailed off.

“What is it, Waves?” Nicole probed.

“Well, I find that you’re making me braver. I wouldn’t have been able to bungee jump without you.” Waverly cut Nicole off before she could respond. “I know you keep saying I could have, but I mean it when I say I don’t think so. The same goes for plane rides. The thought of seeing you, or talking to you, or just thinking about you in your sexy uniform flying the plane, well those are all making me stronger. So thanks for that, Cole.”

Her face lit up at the compliment. “No need to thank me. I’m the one with the perfect girlfriend.”

Both women launched into a casual conversation, talking about their next trip. Nicole began to think then, of a future with her girlfriend, a future where she would be able to come home to her at the end of a long shift. She smiled brightly, distracted at the thought, ignoring her girlfriend’s conversation transition to the Celine concert.

Waverly, obviously catching her distracted girlfriend, stopped midsentence to ask with a smile of her own, “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing too exciting,” Nicole offered as she made a mental note to talk to HR about her options in the morning. “Go on, sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Sorry it's been a few. Guess who has two thumbs and is doing poorly with time management this semester? 
> 
> *Points to self with thumbs*
> 
> Anywho, hope you are all doing [preferably better than] okay! I appreciate your thoughtful words, kudos, and just your happy and kind selves in general.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big moves, and fights, and time jumps.

“NICOLE HAUGHT. If you do not answer your phone right now I am going to…” She trailed off while she tried to think of an actionable threat. “Well, I can tell you who isn’t getting any pictures sent to them for the next two months.” She paused before adding, just so the redhead would be sure, “Spoiler alert, it’s the dirty ones. And that person is _you_.” She poured every ounce of anger she had in her tiny little body into that last statement, hoping to scare the woman on the receiving end into calling her back, quickly.

She hung up, angrily tossing her phone across her desk before she swiftly picked it back up, unlocking the screen and opening Instagram to reread the message she had received ten minutes ago from her girlfriend, making sure she hadn’t misread it. 

> _Aerohaughtics: How would you feel about living together?_

_Nope, that is definitely what I thought it said._ She thought as she set it back down and leaned back in her chair, huffing a puff of air out of her mouth to blow away the hair that had fallen in her face.

She had been at school almost round the clock for the last month, spending hours in textbooks pouring over research. She had just returned from a two-week trip to Italy, where she had spent her time digging through old texts that could not be transported to her. Hovering over ancient books, compiling notes for her thesis had been the highlight of her professional career and she was excited to tell her girlfriend about it, the very same girlfriend who was currently in a cab on her way to her office at this very moment. Waverly was leaving work early that day so they could catch up. Until now, she had only been excited for their lunch at the café and a 2:00 pm showing of Hamilton, tickets she had been gifted at Christmas from Nicole, the very same ones that had caused her to squeal in delight, not unlike a small child opening gifts from Santa on Christmas. Now she was excited for a different reason, a more life changing reason, and she couldn’t get ahold of the person who had sent her that message.

Waverly picked up her phone again, opting to pull up her texts this time, hoping her girlfriend would sense the urgency and respond, and quickly typed out ‘ _I’m not kidding, you’re cut off from ANY PICTURES.’_  

Satisfied with her threat, she smirked at her deviousness. She knew that was Nicole’s favorite, and Waverly loved showing off for her. It made long spans of time apart easier for the both of them. Thinking about how happy her girlfriend made her, she paused as she looked at the picture of them in a frame on her desk. It was a picture someone had taken for them last month standing in front of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. An impulse decision they had made at the last minute before their flights home, they had posed in various quirky poses while the person behind the camera kept directing them what to do. Waverly had printed her favorite one, one where she was caught mid laugh after Nicole had leaned down at the last minute to kiss her cheek. She smiled down at the picture.

_Who am I kidding? I could never cut her off._

She pulled her phone back out then and responded ‘ _That’s a lie’_ followed by a few suggestive emojis to her own text, before she set it down again _._

“Hi baby.” Came a quiet voice from behind her.

She spun quickly around in her office chair to face her girlfriend, standing in her doorway holding flowers and a contrite expression. Jumping out of her chair and walking purposely over to her then, she reached out and cupped the redhead’s cheek in her hand. “I’m mad at you, you know.”

The pilot looked deeply into Waverly’s eyes, obviously searching for some indication as to her emotions about the message she had received, as she responded. “I figured. I got your voicemail.” There was a long pause where no one spoke before she held up the flowers in her hand and softly said, “I got you these.”

“Stop being cute. Why didn’t you wait until you got here to tell me that?” Her eyebrows were furrowed as she pointed to her phone on her desk.

Guiding her girlfriend to the rickety old wooden chair she had found in a storage room in the basement, she took her own place on her office chair and scooted over so her knees were touching the redhead’s as they continued talking. Moving the flowers to her desk, she smiled when she noted that her girlfriend had picked out her favorite, pink carnations. 

“I was nervous the entire cab ride. I haven’t lived with someone in years, Waves. What if I’m a shitty person to live with? So I kept trying to back out before I even asked you. But every time I panicked I kept thinking about your beautiful face, so I sent the message so we’d have to talk about it when I got here.”

Waverly could tell her girlfriend felt sheepish, so she placed a hand on her thigh and began rubbing it gently with her thumb to reassure her as she asked, “Well, I’m glad you did then. Can you tell me more about it?”

She paused to take a deep breath before she began. “So, after Las Vegas I just felt that I wanted to be closer to you. Watching you jump, even though you were terrified, I wanted to do that too.” She shook her head vehemently when she noticed a grin form on Waverly’s face. “Don’t get any ideas. No way in hell am I ever jumping off of a building.” They both giggled at that before Nicole continued, “But, I was so proud of you, that you did this big thing, and I wanted to do that too. So, I called HR after the trip to ask about relocation options. I know it’s not an option for you because you’re only a year into your five-year program and I couldn’t ask you to move, but I knew we have a few pilots that are stationed out of New York or New Jersey, but I wasn’t sure if there were any openings. Turns out there was a spot opening up in New York next month.” 

“Was?” She asked inquisitively. 

“Yeah, one of the guys out here is retiring. The day before I called HR, his spot had been filled so I didn’t bring it up to you then. No point in getting anyone’s hopes up for something I couldn’t do. And then right before I got on the flight to come here I got an email from the man I spoke with in HR. He said that the pilot taking the spot had backed out, and they wanted to know if I wanted it. I wanted to check with you before I emailed him back, so that’s why I sent that message.”

Nicole was looking passionately into her eyes as she told her story and Waverly couldn’t help but smile brightly. 

Not wanting to prolong the silence that was quickly filling the room, Waverly hurriedly added, “Well, if you must know, I’ve been ready to live with you for the last year.”

“We’ve only known each other for 11 months.” The pilot said as she shook her head, smiling.

“That’s how ready I am.”

They both laughed at that, and Nicole surged forward and kissed her. “Are you sure? I don’t want to put any pressure on this.” Gesturing in between them both, she added, “I just… well, I _really_ like you.”

“Good news, Nicole. I _really_ like you too. And of course I’m sure, you adorable dummy!” She leaned forward and tucked a strand of red hair behind the redhead’s ear, who closed her eyes and leaned into the contact.

Upon opening them, Nicole hesitated before asking, “Am I really cut off?”

“Huh?”

“Your voicemail, it said I was cut off from…” She looked around the tiny office, clearly no one was around, but she was too embarrassed to say without checking. “You know? Pictures.”

Waverly laughed out loud at her girlfriend’s shyness before leaning forward and kissing her gently, “Check your texts.” She stood up then and grabbed her Nalgene water bottle off of her desk, unscrewing the cap. “I’m going to go put some water in this for the flowers and then are you ready?”

“Definitely.” She smiled that dimpled smile and Waverly couldn’t help but picture a life where she’d get to come home to that regularly.

__________

She walked into the tiny one bedroom loft she shared with her girlfriend and dropped her bag at the door. They had been doing this for eight months now, and it had become Waverly’s haven. She felt safe and alive whenever she came home now, and she couldn’t believe she had lived so long without the redhead in her life.

The women had chosen a place in between Columbia and JFK, opting for a loft in Astoria, a 20-minute car ride for Nicole and a 35-minute train ride for Waverly. Nicole had tried insisting that she could afford a place in Manhattan, but Waverly saw every time she winced as the realtor told her the price as they were touring apartments. She knew that being in Manhattan would be more convenient for her, but the longer commute time to the airport for Nicole, along with the ever-fluctuating traffic off of the Island, would mean that the redhead would have to leave excessively early, leaving less time for Waverly to spend with her girlfriend. In the end, they ended up in this loft, which Nicole had purchased after her townhouse had been rented out in Toronto. It was a simple place, recently remodeled. There was a kitchen/living space upstairs, with beautiful white cabinets and a small table in the corner. Behind that was the couch and flatscreen, where, time permitting, the girls would spend hours watching old TV shows, cuddled up together on the grey sofa.

Waverly’s days had gotten seemingly longer when classes began in the fall, and she was still spending a good portion of her time on her research, but she found she was much more excited to leave her office now that she had a particular person waiting for her at home.

There had initially been a few fights. It took awhile to adjust to living together, adapting to the other person’s habits. Nicole, although appreciating her girlfriend’s proclivity for undressing wherever she pleased, was having a really hard time with the fact that this meant her clothes ended up wherever she had chosen to strip. They had fought over a pair of pants that had been left in the middle of the kitchen floor one day, and Waverly had quickly gestured to the four cabinet doors askew in the kitchen that Nicole had the bad habit of leaving open whenever she grabbed a snack.

Mad that her girlfriend was lecturing her, Waverly raised her voice, “I don’t ever point out when you leave the cabinets open, which is all the frickin’ time! I just close them and go about my day.”

Raising her voice to match the young brunette’s, she replied, “This is different. What if we have people over and your panties and bra are sitting on the couch.”

“Well then I guess they’ll know we like to have sex, _Nicole_.” She threw her arms in the air dramatically as she spoke.

“Just put your damn clothes away, _Waverly_.” The redhead said with narrowed eyes as she pointed to the pants on the floor.

Waverly angrily grabbed her pants and huffed down the stairs towards their bedroom, tossing them in the hamper and then yelling up the staircase, “Are you happy? My pants are in the fucking hamper, Nicole!” It was then that she took in the situation, pausing at the absurdity of it all, and quickly began laughing.

Nicole, still angry, looked down the stairs to the woman below. “What’s so funny?” She asked in a huff.

Waverly laughed harder, moving towards the bed to sit as she tried hard to explain that they had just fought over a pair of purple yoga pants with unicorns on them. Nicole, now realizing how ridiculous the fight was, began laughing herself and walked down the stairs to sit on the bed next to her. They fell back as the laughter slowly ceased, Nicole curled into her girlfriend on their bed, rubbing circles on the part of her abdomen that was slightly exposed. Waverly laid there, pondering with her hands behind her head, before she suggested they buy two more hampers, one for the space in between the living room and kitchen upstairs and one for the bathroom, promising that if she had a place to put her clothes in her line of sight, that she would use it. Nicole had promised to be mindful and be sure to close the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom after opening them. They had ended the fight with a kiss, which turned into a longer kiss with Nicole straddling Waverly, which somehow turned into Waverly sitting on their new dresser, pants around her ankles as she came undone while Nicole thrust into her with a toy she had grabbed out of the bedside table as she sucked on the brunette’s neck. After Waverly had taken a moment to recover, she gently pushed Nicole back a few steps and hopped down off of the furniture, making herself look presentable before grabbing the redhead’s hand and her purse, leading them out into the night in search of some new hampers for their home. 

That was not their only fight. Two weeks after the yoga pants incident, Nicole, with the ever-changing schedule, found it hard to sleep during Waverly’s routinized sleep cycle. The first night back after a week of redeye flights, she had stayed up late playing Nintendo upstairs. She failed to take into account the fact that their shared home was a loft and sound carried down the stairs to the woman below. Waverly, not wanting to put her girlfriend out by telling her to turn down the volume on the TV, had tossed and turned all night long, trying to drown out the noise with a pillow covering her ears. Eventually, Nicole had crawled in next to her and passed out. When her alarm went off 90 minutes later, Waverly got out of bed, exhausted and angry that she had not gotten any sleep, and had begun subconsciously slamming dresser drawers and leaving lights on while getting ready to head to school.

Nicole, awoken by the commotion and sensing something off with the smaller woman, had prodded as to what was going on.

“Oh, _you_ are finding it hard to sleep? That’s rich.” Waverly had bit out, immediately regretting it, but too stubborn to take it back.

“I’m sorry? I don’t understand.” Her girlfriend, still completely oblivious to the situation had said with concerned eyes as she sat up in bed.

Narrowing her gaze, Waverly angrily spat out, “It doesn’t matter. Go to bed. You have a flight tonight,” before grabbing her school bag, running up the stairs and out the front door, slamming it in the process.

Sitting on the train on her way into the city, she processed what she had done, guilt flooding her small frame. She pulled out her phone she debated calling the redhead, but hoped that she had not taken the interaction too personally and had actually gone back to bed. Instead Waverly opted to send a text, something she knew wouldn’t wake the other woman.

> _I’m so sorry I was an asshat. Please call when you wake up so I can explain. I love you._

She had stewed all through her first class, remorseful for how she had treated her girlfriend that morning. Adding to that, she was still tired, her eyes were bloodshot and she was irritable. Usually the ever kind woman, one who had even won a sash for being the nicest person in her hometown, she instead chose to ignore the existence of everyone around her, keeping her head down towards the ground as she stomped her way back to her tiny office. While not paying attention to anything around her, she stumbled into a tall frame standing by her office door, sending the woman’s drink into her body, knocking the lid off, liquid going all down the front of her.

“I’m so so sorry!” Expecting to find a stranger, Waverly looked up to the smiling gaze of the redhead she called her girlfriend, currently covered in an iced mocha from the collision. “Nicole! Oh baby, I am the worst girlfriend ever.” She tried cleaning her shirt off with her hands as best she could as she broke down in tears, utterly exhausted and regretful for her harsh words earlier, which she had just followed up with by ruining her girlfriend’s perfect attire.

She immediately felt arms envelope her then, with the taller woman careful not to press their bodies together for fear of ruining the smaller woman’s outfit. “Waves, baby, what is going on?" 

Finally stilling her tears, she stepped back and pointed to her door. “Let’s go in here.” She said as she reached into her bag to grab keys to unlock the office door.

The older woman leaned down and grabbed an undisturbed coffee off of the floor then, and walked into the office behind her.

Sitting down, she handed the drink to the smaller woman. “I brought this for you. Lucky I set it on the floor so I could play with my phone while I waited.” She wiggled her eyebrows at that, solidifying the joke she was trying to make out of the situation.

Laughing as a fresh tear streamed down her face, Waverly took it gratefully as she moved to close the door. “Take your shirt off,” she instructed as she gently set the coffee on her desk and walked to a bag in the corner.

“What?” Came a puzzled reply from the redhead sitting on the spare chair in the corner.

Reaching into her duffle she kept in case she fell asleep in her office, Waverly grabbed a sweatshirt, a soft grey garment with a red Raptors logo that she had stolen from Nicole at Christmas time. “Put this on.”

Finally sitting down, she looked expectantly at the redhead, still paralyzed with confusion and inaction.

“Change your shirt, baby.” Waverly gently urged, as she tugged at the bottom of the soiled garment on the redhead.

Nicole did as instructed then. As she removed her stained shirt and grabbed for the sweatshirt, she laughed. “I was wondering where this went. I thought it got packed away when I put my stuff in storage.” Sitting back down and dropping the coffee stained shirt on the ground, she looked meekly at Waverly then. “Are you— are we okay?”

Waverly launched into her story, explaining that she hadn’t gotten any sleep due to the loud sound of the video game from above. Noticing Nicole’s regretful expression, she had explained that she hadn’t wanted to put her out, which is why she hadn’t told her. Nicole then leaned forward and took a hand as she apologized.

“I didn’t even think about it, babe. I am SO sorry. Next time something like that is bothering you, will you tell me? Remember how much easier life was after we talked and then bought the laundry baskets?”

“Yeah. Thanks for coming here, baby. I’m so sorry you had to.” She shyly replied as she leaned forward to offer a chaste apology kiss before realizing that her girlfriend was here and not at home, quickly pulling back and scolding her girlfriend for not sleeping right now. “You need to get home and go to bed right now.” She shooed her out the door, thanking her once more for the coffee and promised she would make it home to say goodbye before the redhead had to fly out that night on a two-day shift.

Back to reality and a much more peaceful situation now that they knew each other’s quirks and were openly communicating, Waverly leaned down as she walked through her front door and petted the approaching orange cat, setting the bottle of red wine she had picked up on her way home down on the floor in the process. She was excited to see her girlfriend who had just returned from a five day shift. She hadn’t had a shift this long in two months, and Waverly felt the days drag by slowly. She had tried to occupy her time at school, but knowing she was coming home to a house without the redhead still felt off, as if a part of her was missing. She had stopped on her way home to grab a bottle of wine to drink while they finished the Criminal Minds marathon they had started before she left.

Standing back up, Waverly took off her winter coat and hung it on the rack next to the door and then grabbed the bottle and her school bag and walked further into their loft. She was greeted by the smell of spaghetti and breadsticks, currently plated on the bar in their kitchen. “At Last” by Etta James was playing softly in the background, their small kitchen table was adorned with a new table cloth Waverly had never seen, and candles were sparkling next to a bouquet of pink carnations sitting in a glass vase in the middle of the table.

“Cole?” Waverly was confused, thinking they had settled on ordering Thai for dinner, and called out for her girlfriend after quickly glancing around, unable to find her.

As the redhead slowly made her way up the stairs, Waverly noted that she looked more done up than normal. Her short red hair, usually loose and adorably haphazard, had been curled in a wavy style. She had done her makeup, in addition to her usual eyeliner and mascara, Waverly noted she was also wearing eye shadow, foundation, and blush as well. She also noticed that the redhead had put on Waverly’s favorite outfit, a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a light blue button up over a white v neck t-shirt. The redhead was padding around in socks, but had her white converse in her hand. She walked casually by Waverly, moving to set her shoes by the front door, before coming back, grabbing the bag and the bottle of wine from her and then leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

“Hi baby, I missed you.” The redhead offered as she pulled back and moved to place the wine on the counter and the bag against the wall.

Looking around and realizing their usually slightly messy apartment was spotless, Waverly cocked her head to the side and moved towards her girlfriend, who had now moved and was leaning against a cabinet near the fridge. Her arms were on either side of her on the countertop and she was currently smiling down at Waverly. Leaning into the smirking pilot, Waverly placed her hands around the taller woman’s neck and threaded her fingers through her red hair.

“Um… not that I’m complaining, but what is going on, baby? It’s not our anniversary and you didn’t tell me it was date night.”

She leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend slowly before whispering in her ear, “Oh nothing, I just missed you.” The pilot pulled back then, expertly stepping out of Waverly’s grasp and moved to the table, pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit.

Waverly moved over, curiously taking a seat and watching the redhead grab the wine and pour into two glasses on the counter. “Thanks for getting this.”

“Yeah…” She trailed off as she hungrily took in her girlfriend’s toned physique, noting how much she had missed her over the last few days. “I thought we could have it while we watched Criminal Minds.”

The tall redhead moved back over to her now, setting the wine down and going back to grab the plated food. “I bought some too, in case we finish this one off.”

Waverly took note of the suggestive tone that laced the pilot’s statement, but didn’t press. She felt a pang of excitement shoot through her as she assessed the situation. Not wanting to get her hopes up, she suppressed her excitement as the pilot sat down next to her.

“I hope you like this spaghetti. I called Wynonna for your favorite recipe, but she told me I should already know it and then hung up.” Nicole shook her head as she laughed. “About two hours later she shot me a picture of a spaghetti recipe with no caption and I didn’t want to prod, so I just thanked her and went with it.”

Waverly moaned as she took a bite of the food before her, “Yeah, this is what my aunt Gus made me for my birthday growing up. It reminds me of my childhood. It tastes just like hers!” She grabbed the napkin next to her plate and wiped at her mouth and then leaned over and kissed her girlfriend in thanks.

“Oh good. I picked up cheesecake for us from Magnolia for dessert, as well.”

Waverly felt the excitement in her chest rise again, and quickly went to squash it with a casual question. “How was your flight today, baby?”

As they launched into normal conversation, Waverly toed off her shoes and slipped her feet into her girlfriend’s lap. Enjoying the company more than the delicious food, they both ate slowly and chatted, all the while Waverly wondered if her thoughts about the evening were true. After dinner, Nicole had gotten up and cleared their plates, insisting Waverly not help.

Walking back to the table, Nicole sat down and grabbed Waverly’s hand, absentmindedly playing with her fingers as she gently asked, “Do you know how much I love you?”

Waverly, leaning forward and looking her girlfriend in the eyes, tried her best to casually reply, “Not as much as I love you.”

The pilot smirked as she responded, “I doubt it” before she dropped a hand and stood up, grabbing the empty wine glasses and moving to the bottle on the counter.

Waverly, frustrated at the loss of contact, frowned. “Nicole?”

“Yeah, Waves?” She smiled as she looked up from the wine flowing out of the bottle below her.

“Are you sure nothing is going on here?”

Waverly was certain something was different. She could feel it in the air, but she didn’t want to prod too much. They had only talked about marriage twice before, and it was only a vague mention by the redhead after a marathon of sex that had ranged from tender to rough. The redhead had remarked, after Waverly had moved up and out of the sheets to kiss her on the mouth, “I can’t believe we get to do this forever.” Waverly could tell the statement from the pilot had embarrassed her because she turned a bright red and flipped their positions, hoping to distract her. Waverly made a mental note to bring it up later, deciding to forego it at that current moment in favor of reveling in the contact from the woman whose fingers were slowly making her way down her abdomen. The next morning as they were laying there watching a movie on Nicole’s laptop, Waverly had looked at the redhead and said, “I want you to know, I would be comfortable doing anything with you forever.” That was the last time they had made mention of anything remotely resembling a talk about marriage.

If she thought about it, she was pretty sure Nicole was ready. Everything they did seemed like it was preparing the couple for a life together. When her renters had moved out in Toronto, they had had a serious discussion about whether she should sell her home or rent it out again. Waverly had told her to rent it because there were a lot of teaching positions she would like to try for there once she finished her PhD. Nicole had constantly checked in with Alice, even stopping by occasionally when a flight took her to Calgary to eat dinner with Wynonna, Alice, and occasionally John. Wynonna, still outwardly standoffish to Nicole, had openly admitted to caring for her during a phone call to Waverly one night. Waverly had told Nicole that, but the pilot refused to believe it. Both women had flown up to Toronto in the summer to go to Shae’s wedding. Waverly had fallen in love with Nicole’s adopted family, and was now included in their family group text. It all felt like everything was falling into place, even if they hadn’t had a conversation that directly discussed marriage.

“No, why do you ask?” Nicole responded, looking genuinely perplexed and Waverly wondered if she was reading the current situation wrong.

“This is just all… much fancier than we usually are.” She gestured to the candles in front of her and the wine Nicole had just finished pouring. “I mean, usually we sit in our underwear under a blanket on the couch and watch rom coms or cop dramas while eating takeout.”

“Oh no.” She laughed heartily then, a little part of Waverly’s hope sunk at that laugh as her girlfriend continued to speak, “I just wanted to do something different tonight.” She took the glasses over the coffee table in front of the sofa and moved back for her girlfriend’s hand.

Waverly willingly followed, growing increasingly frustrated that she didn’t know what was happening. She sat down near the end of the couch and the redhead joined her, placing her feet in Waverly’s lap and leaning for the remote on the coffee table. She turned on the television and pulled up Netflix, playing where they had left off in their show before Nicole had to leave.

Glancing down at the feet in her lap of the woman she was positive she loved and who loved her, she slowly looked over and saw her favorite brown eyes staring at her.

“Is something wrong, Wave?” The pilot gently asked.

She wasn’t sure if it was the wine, nerves, confusion, or irritation, but she quickly asked the question she had been expecting to hear all night long. “Will you marry me?” Waverly clapped her hand over her mouth as surprise coursed through her. She had never thought she would be the person to ask that question, but now that it was out, it felt right. She only regretted she didn’t have a ring to go along with it.

The pilot’s eyes bulged out of her head and she quickly sat up, leaning for the remote, silencing Shemar Moore just as he began to flirt with Penelope. “Did you just say what I thought you did?”

Waverly, still surprised, slowly moved her hand off of her mouth and nodded. “I think I did.”

Nicole laughed, pulling her legs off of Waverly and getting up to go to her Converse by the door. “Well this puts a wrench in my plans,” she said as she leaned down and grabbed a teal box out of her shoe.

She moved back to the couch and sat down, her knee touching Waverly’s as she opened up the small box that read Tiffany & Co. on it. A brilliant diamond set in a six-prong setting was staring at her.

Mesmerized, Waverly stared for a moment, unable to say anything, before she looked at Nicole and said the first thing on her mind. “Why was that in your shoe?”

Nicole laughed hard for a moment, taking a second to collect herself before she could respond. “You came home earlier than I thought you would. I wanted to slip it into my coat pocket and ask you after breakfast tomorrow. I made reservations in the city at that French place we love and then I was going to take you ice skating and ask.”

“So is that what all of this was about? A primer for tomorrow?” She said as she gestured around to the table, still adorned with flickering candles and a bouquet of her favorite flowers.

“Yes and no. I really did miss you, but I wanted the lead up to tomorrow to be special. I even got Wynonna and Alice’s blessing when I was out there last month. I had to make Alice pinky promise not to tell you.”

Listening to the extent to which her girlfriend had planned, Waverly began to cry, which in turn made Nicole cry.

“So?” The redhead asked as she pushed the ring towards her.

“I asked first. I’m waiting on you.” Waverly smiled as she wiped away a tear from her eye.

Nicole nodded then, before adding a verbal “Yes,” for good measure.

Waverly surged forward, pushing the pilot down in a hungry kiss. She fumbled for the box, still in Nicole’s hand, and upon finding it, awkwardly set it on the coffee table without looking. Both women finally broke away, panting for air after a moment.

Waverly looked down at her the woman below her and smiled. She moved to wipe away a tear off of the redhead’s cheek, and spoke gently then. “I love you, you know.”

The pilot leaned up and kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear, “Not as much as I love you.”

Waverly pushed her fiancé back down in a heated kiss then, intent on proving her wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one! It was much longer than I intended, but didn't want to break it up.
> 
> Pretty sure there is one chapter left after this.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wayhaught wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the amount of fluff in here.

“Tell me again why you thought this was a good idea?”

Nicole was lying in her Calgary hotel room bed talking to her disgruntled fiancé for the 6th time in 3 days about their self-imposed time apart.

Nicole couldn’t help but smile at her fiancé’s impatience. They would be seeing each other for the first time in four days tomorrow, but the young woman had called her at 11:00 pm as she was getting into bed, clearly still mad about the agreement. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, baby,” Nicole tried to reason.

“But I miss my bonus blanket.” The whine in Waverly’s voice made Nicole almost break, before she decided to try a different tactic and deflect.

“Hasn’t Alice been serving as your bonus blanket?” The eight-year-old had called Nicole every morning since arriving in Calgary, giving her a Waverly update. Usually the calls consisted of Alice talking about how Waverly had snored through the night and that it was so loud that she was sure Mr. Nedley, the curmudgeon next door, was going to complain. Nicole would laugh, knowing full well what the little girl was talking about, and continue listening to the rest of the Waverly update.

Nicole’s thoughts were interrupted by the woman on the other end of the line. “Well yeah, but she kicks and smacks. Do you want me to have a black eye for our wedding day? I had to make her sleep in her own room tonight so I wouldn’t. So now I’m just laying here all cold and alone.”

She paused at the thought. The thing she hated most about her job was the fact that it would keep her away from Waverly for days at a time, and now she was the one personally responsible for this situation. “…I just thought that it would make tomorrow more special if we spent a little time apart first. If you really want, I can come sneak in.”

She heard a loud sigh followed by a whispered, “You know you can’t. Wynonna would murder you.”

“Yeah…” Nicole trailed off as she allowed herself to weigh the pros and cons of the idea. “She really would. But you’re worth it.”

“You’re not allowed to die before our wedding. Or after for that matter.”

“How about we facetime? Is that a fair compromise?” Nicole wanted to be reasonable, this was her idea, after all.

“Are you sure? You were really into this time apart thing. ‘Baby, let’s spend one week apart before the wedding. No texting, no phone calls, no seeing each other.’” Waverly was using her ‘Nicole’ voice, the one that was much deeper and southern than her own, the one she couldn’t stand because it sounded nothing like her.

Not wanting the travesty that was this impersonation to go on any further, Nicole interrupted, “I do not sound like that. I’m not even from the south.”

She persisted, “You’re lucky I talked you down to four days with phone calls and texting or, on our wedding night, you would not be getting to see the pink lac— you know what? Never mind.”

Pink lace? Her interest was piqued. “What? No! Tell me more.”

“Let’s just say, check our credit card statement. You’ll see a charge from a certain Victoria I know you love. I picked out a few of her secrets that I’m sure you’ll be a fan of.”

She groaned loudly at the thought. "You're killing me." Waverly’s surprise trips to Victoria’s Secret, usually while she was gone for a few days at a time flying, always ended in her favorite nights when she was back home.

“Good.” There was a smugness in that statement Nicole did not appreciate. “Now you should get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day.”

“How did this conversation turn into me regretting this arrangement?”

Continuing in her smug demeanor, Waverly replied, “I have to say, I like this turn of events. But seriously go to bed, baby. I’m just going to be lying here, in this pink lac— you know what? Never mind.”

“Stop it!” She groaned loudly, but thinking about her fiancé, her heart warmed. “I love you, you know? Like, with my whole entire heart. And I am the luckiest person ever because you are going to attach yourself to me tomorrow and be stuck with me, and I don’t know if you know this, but you are the most amazing person I know. So the fact that you’re willing to put up with me forever just blows my mind.”

There was a long pause and Nicole looked down at her phone to see if the call had been disconnected before asking, “Are you still there?”

That’s when she heard the sniffle and then Waverly responded, “Will you still want to marry me if I have red puffy eyes tomorrow because you made me cry?”

“I’ll still want to marry you even if you get pink eye and we have to put drops in your eyes right before the officiant starts speaking.”

There was another sniffle and then a small “I love you.”

“I know.” Nicole took the opportunity to be smug this time.

“You’re an asshole.”

“But you love me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

The love permeating her fiancé’s voice was palpable and Nicole couldn’t help but smile as she responded, “Wouldn’t miss it.”

__________

“What if she doesn’t show up, Shae? She’s so much better than I am. Maybe she figured that out and left.”

Nicole was pacing her hotel room in her simple white floor length gown she had picked out. Not wanting anything too frilly, Nicole had chosen the plainest dress in the store, which fit her form perfectly, showing just the right amount of cleavage that she knew would please Waverly. She had paired the gown with a pair of brand new white converse that, although usually hidden due to the length, was now in full view as she continued marching back and forth.

Shae stepped in front of Nicole, effectively stopping her march as she tried to reason, “Stop being stupid. You know she’s at her sister’s getting ready right now.”

“But… maybe we should call her just to make sure everything is okay?” There was a vulnerability in her voice she hadn’t expected and she knew that Shae had picked up on it as well.

The doctor cocked her head as she asked, “Do you really want to do that?”

“Kind of.” She was trying to be strong, but was failing considerably.

“Well if that’s what you need, let’s do it.” Shae pulled out her phone and searched for Waverly in her contacts, pressing call and letting the phone ring aloud on speaker.

The woman on the other end answered quickly. Concern laced in her voice she asked, “Hi Shae! Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just Nicole—” The doctor had begun but was quickly stopped.

Cutting her off, Waverly began panicking through the phone, “Oh God, did she bail? Nonna kept saying she wouldn’t but I kept pointing out that she has the ability to fly wherever she wants and could literally hop on the nex—”

It was Waverly’s turn to be cut off as Nicole interjected, “Hi baby.”

There was a slight delay before a soft “Hi” was said. Her words were shy, as she was obviously relieved and a little embarrassed.

Shae spoke up then, wanting to apologize for the social faux paus. “I’m so sorry Waverly, I should’ve said you were on speaker when you answered.”

“It’s okay. What’s up ladies?”

Nicole spoke again this time, “Nothing really. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“I’m glad you called. Did you know we’re getting married in an hour?” Waverly asked, confidence in her voice growing as they spoke.

Nicole smiled brightly as she looked down at the phone in Shae’s hand, as if she could see her fiancé through the phone. “I did. I’ll see you there?”

“You betcha.” She could picture the finger guns that Waverly was making on the other end of the line. She chuckled at the thought as the doctor hung up and both women continued getting ready.

_________ 

She was in a dream, she was sure. Standing in this small grove of trees, with 20 of their closest friends and family members watching as her fiancé was strolling towards her, adorned in her mother’s vintage dress and a simple flower crown, Nicole was sure she had died and gone to heaven. If it wasn’t for Wynonna, that is. The usually stubborn and stoic and completely terrifying woman was standing in the front row loudly blubbering and blowing her nose in a tissue while John Henry rubbed her back, while everyone watched Alice walk Waverly down the aisle. Nicole smiled at her soon to be sister in law, making a mental note to use this small break in the oldest Earp’s terrifying persona the next time the woman threatened her, before looking back to her beaming fiancé.

As both ladies approached, Nicole leaned down and kissed her new niece on the cheek and whispered a quiet, “You look beautiful,” to the youngest Earp who blushed and then joined her father, who was still trying to comfort Wynonna loudly crying on the front row.

Nicole stood back up then and looked her soon to be wife in the eyes, witnessing a tear slip down the brunette’s cheek, which she leaned forward to wipe away before looking towards the officiant who began the ceremony.

As she took the hands of the woman she loved, and who loved her, Nicole was positive this was her heaven.

__________

The night had been just as good, Nicole was sure. She had spent it with her wife attached to her arm, walking across the large white tent adorned with twinkling lights above them, talking to those they loved, sneaking into corners to steal a kiss, dancing with Alice, then with each other, eventually finding a seat to eat a bite before being pulled in different directions to dance with others, before eventually making their way back to each other.

As they swayed to their wedding song, "At Last" by Etta James, Waverly rested her head on Nicole’s shoulder and whispered, “This day has been amazing. I’m glad you didn’t flee.”

“Me too. You’ve got flight benefits too, you know?”

The soon to be PhD graduate lifted her head, “I didn’t think of that. You mean I could be on a beach right now?”

Nicole laughed before leaning down to kiss her wife, “Good news, we’ll be on a beach tomorrow.”

“Technically we’ll be on a hut over the water.”

“Which is attached to a beach, Waves.” She smirked at the pun, which she had made on purpose to annoy her wife.

“Do you really want to go there, Haught stuff?” 

“No, I guess not.” As the song finished, Nicole felt her wife being yanked out of her hands and went to interject when she saw Wynonna give her evil eyes.

The two sisters began dancing to "I Want to Dance With Somebody" as Nicole mumbled, “I guess I’ll go get a drink,” to herself before making her way over to the bar, ordering a gin and tonic as she watched the two Earp’s dancing excitedly to the upbeat pop song.

She sipped and sat down at an empty table and was happy when Shae joined her, Eliza in tow.

“She showed up.” The doctor offered as Nicole watched her wife.

“She really did.” Nicole took in her wife’s form, making a mental note to appreciate it later as she turned to look at both women. “Thank you for coming, it means a lot.”

“You keep saying stupid things, Nicole. Of course we’d be here. You’re family, you idiot.” Shae jumped as she was playfully smacked by Eliza in a reproachful manner.

“What my wife here means is that ‘We love you and are so happy to be here for you.’” Eliza added as Shae nodded.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.” The doctor threw in for good measure as the song ended and Waverly made her way over, sitting down in the pilot’s lap and grabbing her drink.

“I forget how much energy dancing takes.” She said as she finished her sip and set the drink back on the table which was quickly picked up and finished by Nicole.

“Why don’t we cut the cake and then get out of here then?” Nicole whispered in Waverly’s ear as she put the empty drink down.

“Sounds like a plan, babe.” Her wife then jumped out of her lap and grabbed Nicole’s hand, pulling her up.

“Come on ladies,” Nicole said to the women chuckling at the table as she was dragged towards the cake.

__________

Nicole rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she patted the spot where her wife was supposed to be. Feeling nothing, she sat up and looked around the small hut. She caught a glimpse of the woman, just outside the opened doors, laying in a bikini on the rope netting over the water as she read a book.

Nicole stood up and made her way over to the woman, on her way stopping to pull on a t-shirt sitting on the top of her bag and pair of bikini bottoms that had been discarded as they stumbled their way towards the bed, intertwined as they exchanged heated kisses and touches.

“You left me,” she said as she carefully joined her wife, who had moved her head over on the pillow to give Nicole some room as she laid down gently on the cargo net hammock.

“You were sleeping so peacefully, and I got bored so I came out here to read.” She shut her book and passed it to Nicole who tossed it up onto the wood, before Nicole rolled over and hugged her wife tightly. “This is heaven, you know? Why don’t we just stay?” Waverly offered as she rubbed up and down Nicole’s arm wrapped around the brunette’s stomach.

Nicole looked up, into her favorite pair of eyes, and responded, “Babe, you only have a year left. You have to finish your degree.”

The brunette rolled her eyes as she argued, “Degrees are overrated but this hut definitely isn’t. Same with you in that bikini.”

“What about that job offer in Toronto, is that overrated? Because I think that was contingent on the degree.” Nicole hated to be the voice of reason, but she knew how much that offer had meant to her wife.

“You’re too logical.” They both laughed as Nicole settled her head back on the brunette’s chest, who began playing with her short red locks.

“Just thinking long term.” She traced small patterns along Waverly’s stomach as she thought. “How about this? What if I bring you back here to celebrate graduation?”

“That sounds tempting… Tell me more.”

“Well, it’ll just be us. I’ll make sure we leave our phones at home this time so Wynonna won’t interrupt every two hours like she’s doing now. I’ll go to Victoria, get a few secrets of my own.”

“I’m all in.” She smirked devilishly and Nicole raised an eyebrow before her wife continued. “Speaking of Victoria. That pink lace number." At that, she quickly jumped up, abandoning Nicole.

“I hope you know you’re seriously going to kill me.” Nicole called after her with a smile. This was her heaven, she thought for the millionth time in the last few days as she watched her wife begin digging through her bag before pulling out something that was incredibly lacy and much too small to be worn in public, eventually disappearing behind a wall to change.

Nicole playfully groaned as she slowly got up, making her way back to the bed, anxiously awaiting her new wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? I really hope so. I was worried about this chapter, writing the wedding was much more stressful than I thought it'd be. 
> 
> Also, I can stop here but this is actually not how I intended on ending this story. Would you mind if I put up a chapter or two more? Let me know. And thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S. As always, I apologize for any mistakes. I'm a lazy editor but I do try to fix them as I catch them. :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the mistakes I'm sure I didn't catch.

Sitting on the couch, blanket covering her feet lain across the coffee table as she ate the popcorn in her lap, Nicole kept pausing to listen for any indication of Waverly’s presence at the front door. It had been two months since their wedding and she was finding herself home alone a lot more now that her wife was becoming increasingly wrapped up in her dissertation. Nicole didn’t mind, but she did find that her time at home was much lonelier now. She sometimes wondered to herself how she had spent so many years without the small brunette who now consumed her life and added so much joy.

Spooked by the sound of a noise outside her door, she quickly paused the television, heart thumping wildly as she looked back and forth from the front door to the bikini clad women in the hot tub on the screen. Nicole sat in silence for a moment before a meow from the floor caused her to jump. Realizing no one was coming through the front door and her wife wasn’t home yet, she looked down to the cat. 

“Stop it. We’re not telling her.” She said as she as she was met with a suspiciously judgy look from the orange ball of fur staring up at her. Sighing, she realized it was actually the cat’s dinner time and got up to feed her. 

She hummed quietly to herself as she was dumping the can of food into the bowl for the tabby, stopping when she heard the lock click on the front door. Dropping the can as cat food splattered all over the counter, she sprinted over a disgruntled CJ waiting impatiently for her food as she dove for the remote on the TV. Spilling popcorn everywhere in the process as she panted from the adrenaline, she managed to turn the screen off right as her wife walked through the door.

Catching the end of the scene, Waverly walked in slowly, observing the spilt popcorn and panting redhead, she eyed her suspiciously for a moment before calmly saying, “Turn it back on, Nicole.”

Trying to play her haphazardly thrown across the couch body off as innocently as possible, she smoothed the blanked under her and pushed away a few popcorn kernels as she sweetly said, “What do you mean, baby?”

“You know what I mean. Turn it back on or I will.” Her eyes narrowed as she slowly moved to set her bag down on the floor and began walking towards the remote.

Grabbing the device and shoving it down her shirt, Nicole moved to sit up and start picking up popcorn. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, avoiding eye contact as she cleaned.

“Look at me.” Shuddering, she knew Waverly was using her teacher voice on her.

Nicole avoided her wife’s gaze for a moment as she finished picking up the last of the popcorn before finally looking over. “I don’t know where the remote went,” she said as she subtly tried to move the remote down her shirt, now pressing uncomfortably against her left breast.

Waverly shot her a glare before she changed tactics and walked for the television mounted on the wall, feeling wildly for the buttons behind.

Knowing she was cornered, Nicole finally gave in.

“Fine, fine. I’ll show you.” She reached into her shirt and grabbed for the remote, head hung low as she turned the television on.

She winced when she heard Waverly gasp and then sharply say, “I knew it!”

“I’m so sorry!” She offered the second the accusation had left the brunette’s lips.

“You are in so much trouble, Nicole Haught! I told you not to watch the new episode without me!” She threw her hand, which had been resting on her hip, towards the paused screen cap of The Bachelor before she looked back at Nicole, face demanding answers.

“I couldn’t help it. Dave was talking about it on the flight in and he kept trying to tell me spoilers and I kept stopping him but it sounded so good and I didn’t know when you’d be home tonight and I am so sorry and you are so pretty and I like you so much.” She knew she had rambled, but she hoped the brunette had found it endearing.

“How far in are you?” Waverly asked irritably as she dropped her pants, tossing them over her shoulder towards the hamper next to the bathroom.

“Only 15 minutes.” Nicole said as she watched her wife carefully, gulping deeply as the woman pulled off her shirt and bra before she reached into the closet and grabbed formerly Nicole’s, and now completely Waverly’s, Toronto Raptors sweatshirt, pulling it over her head and sitting on the couch.

“We are restarting the episode.” Her tone was unforgiving but her expression had softened.

Nicole stared down at her wife’s exposed thighs for a beat before she shook her head slightly, snapping back to reality and responded, “That’s fair,” as she cautiously moved to sit next to Waverly.

“Nope. CJ has been eyeing the food on the counter since I walked in. Go finish what you started before I caught you, you sneaky snake.” She pointed towards the counter. Nicole began towards the spillage but turned as she heard her wife add, “And baby?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you please pour me some wine while you’re up?” She said as she popped a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth and winked.

__________

Waverly was stressed. Immeasurably stressed. And this wasn’t the ‘messy, hair in a bun, talking wildly with her hands’ kind of stressed that everyone was used to. In fact, that was one of Nicole’s favorite moods of Waverly to watch. Watching her speak passionately as anyone in her vicinity had to duck out of her way to avoid being hit as her hands flailed about. Well, that was fun. But this Waverly. This was the ‘laser focused, if you interrupt me I am going to cut your throat, or at least snap at you’ kind of stressed. This version was scary.

Nicole currently found herself standing outside her wife’s closed office door holding two cups of coffee and two wraps that she had grabbed from Waverly’s favorite Mediterranean place. This wasn’t the first time in the last two weeks she had to do this.

As she approached the completion of her dissertation, Waverly had been spending the majority of her time at her office, hunkered down over her laptop, research strewn across the floor as she typed feverishly. The brunette had assured Nicole that she thought she could keep the paper under 75 pages, but now 125 pages in, Waverly was seeping anxiety as she tried to condense the last of her research into her dissertation. Nicole, concerned for her wife’s well-being a few weeks back had headed into the city to check on her. She hadn’t heard from her since she had landing back in New York, a good twelve hours before, and had entered the office without knocking and had been chastised angrily for interrupting the process. Nicole had apologized profusely and had left like a puppy with her tail between her legs, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Waverly had come running after her about 40 seconds later and had grabbed her hand and walked her back into the office, clearing a space for her on the chair as she apologized repeatedly while both women cried. Waverly had explained that she was on edge because she hadn’t slept in over 28 hours, and she hadn’t eaten in over 14. Nicole had forced her to stop for the night and had opted to grab a cab home, instead of taking the subway, so her wife could get to sleep earlier. Nicole had to help Waverly inside, who made it as far as the couch before she passed out. Nicole had to take her shoes off and throw a blanket over the student before she herself could turn in for the night.

Nicole could tell that her dissertation was becoming all-consuming for Waverly when, two nights ago, she had yelled “Volubilis” as she climaxed with Nicole on top of her, pumping in and out as she kissed at her neck. It had taken everything in Nicole’s power to not laugh, biting down on her cheek as Waverly grabbed for a pillow to cover her mostly embarrassed, but slightly flushed from sex, reddened face. Nicole had coaxed the pillow away before Waverly had explained that when she was studying in Morocco she had taken a few hours to go visit the settlement from the Roman era and it had been her favorite. She was also currently writing about it in her paper, and it was on the top of her mind. Nicole had frowned, knowing she wasn’t top of mind, but had quickly forgotten when Waverly flipped their positions and began attending to Nicole.

Now, back to the present and standing in front of the office door, Nicole was unsure of what to do. If she knocked, she knew she would be interrupting her wife’s typing. If she barged in, she’d risk being snapped at again. She hesitated a few times, bringing a closed fist up to knock before chickening out and dropping it again, before she finally decided to open the door and peek in. As she turned the knob quietly, she inhaled sharply holding her breath as she looked around the room. The sight she was met with melted her heart. Waverly was draped over her laptop, hair splayed across the desk and a small amount of drool dripping onto her sleeve. Nicole slowly walked into the office and set the coffees on the small bookshelf, dropping the bag of food on the floor before she cautiously walked forward and tapped her wife’s shoulder.

Apparently startled, Waverly screamed and stood up, looking around the room wildly.

After a moment, realization dawned on her face and she smiled as she shoved Nicole’s shoulder playfully. “Fudgenuggets Nicole, you scared me!”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the cuteness of the reaction. “Sorry baby. I hadn’t heard from you all day. I was worried.”

“What time is it?” She yawned as she rubbed her eyes, still in the process of waking up.

“It’s a little after 12:00 p.m. I saw the note you left on the counter,” Nicole smiled remembering the rose accompanied with a hastily written message that said ‘Will be at school. Behave. I’ll know if you watch Lost Girl without me. <3.’ “So I figured you were here, but when I didn’t have a text from you when I woke up this morning I knew I needed to come and check on you. How long were you out?”

“I must’ve fallen asleep... Last I checked, it was… 4 a.m.?”

Nicole smiled at her wife’s crinkled thinking brow and leaned forward to kiss it before responding, “You’ve been out for a while then. How’s the paper?”

Waverly paused, thinking for a moment before her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She clapped and squeaked out an excited, “Oh my god, baby. I think it’s done!”

“It’s done?” Nicole couldn’t believe the last five years had culminated to this moment. She had met Waverly heading to her PhD interview. She had recklessly flown out to date her on a whim right after it. She fell in love with the woman the summer before her move to New York. Had then uprooted her life to move to be with the brunette. Nicole had wanted to wait before getting married, not wanting to jeopardize Waverly’s research, but had reluctantly agreed, thanks to some very convincing puppy dog eyes, to get married in the middle of Waverly’s research so they wouldn’t have to wait an extra few years. She had spent the last eight months living with a part time wife when the brunette had become laser focused. Now, with the realization that Waverly’s schooling was finally over, she suddenly felt overwhelmed and astonished, but mostly excited.

“Like done, done?”

Waverly smiled widely, eyes crinkling as she leaned forward, ghosting a kiss across her lips as she mumbled, “Done, done.”

“So my wife’s a doctor now? I get to call you Dr. Earp?” The thought of the official title was incredibly exciting, and also very sexy, and she couldn’t wait to use it.

“Not for a little bit. I have to defend my dissertation first. And then there is graduation. But after both of those you can call me doctor.” The brunette placed another kiss on her lips before she leaned back and smiled. “I prefer baby, though, if we’re being honest.”

“Doctor Earp.” She said as she gazed in awe at the woman in front of her. “You’re so amazing.”

“And you,” She paused to place a kiss on the redhead’s collarbone and then rested her chin on her chest, looking up, before continuing, “are good for my ego. Want to go home?”

“I’d like that very much.” The smaller woman backed up and began packing up her stuff into her bag while Nicole grabbed for their coffees.

“CJ misses you, I think. She made the top of the dresser her new home and she just stares at me when I’m in bed alone. I think she’s plotting my murder.”

“Not if Wynonna doesn’t get to you first.” Waverly added under her breath, loud enough for Nicole to hear.

She whipped around, glaring at her wife. “I knew she didn’t like me!”

Waverly rolled her eyes as she began heading towards the door. “That was a joke, Nicole.”

“Sure, sure.” Nicole said as she followed, taking her wife home, completely undistracted for the first time in years. 

__________

“Do you think I should take Toronto or Vancouver? We can’t do Utah because there isn’t a hub there, so that rules that one out. There is Arizona, but that’s so far from everyone and I kind of want to go home.”

Nicole was sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping coffee and reading the news on her phone while Waverly paced in front of her, only occasionally pausing her march to take a sip of her own coffee.

“I want to do what you want to do.” She said without looking up.

Waverly paused and narrowed her eyes. “I know you have an opinion.”

“I really don’t.” She kept scrolling, stopping to read an article about the volatility of bitcoin.

“How can you not? This affects you as much as it affects me.” Her march had continued, coffee cup in hand this time.

“I honestly do not care because no matter where we end up, I get to be with you.” She looked up that time, meeting her wife’s eyes to solidify her point.

She smiled sweetly before responding. “Aw, that’s such bull crap. You’re telling me, you would be 100% okay with moving to Arizona? The 49° C, scorpion and tarantula place?”

“Totally.” Nicole went back to her phone, running the index finger from her free hand around the rim of her coffee mug as she read.

“You have pale skin, Cole. And red hair. You burn.” Nicole looked up and smirked as Waverly gestured wildly to Nicole’s skin.

“Still fine with it.” She said casually as she took a sip from the coffee in front of her.

“How?” Her eyes practically bugged out of her head at the question.

“I have the hottest nurse around.”

“Remember when we fell asleep on that beach in Miami without reapplying and you turned into a tomato? I was worried I’d have to take you to the emergency room.”

“Yeah, but remember what great care you gave me?” Nicole said before winking and then took another sip of her coffee.

“What are you talking about? Your burn was so bad we couldn’t do anything for two weeks!”

Setting her mug back down, she pondered. “Hmm… that must’ve been my other wife I was thinking of.”

Waverly leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms and legs as she contemplated, ignoring Nicole’s joke entirely. “Seriously baby. Do you not care?”

“I promise you on my entire autographed collection of The Babysitter’s Club, I do not care.”

“I still don’t know why you still have those.” Waverly mumbled, loud enough for Nicole to hear.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked back to her wife. “Don’t you start, Mrs. 120 ‘Rare’ Beanie Babies,” making sure to add quotation marks around the word ‘rare.’

They both laughed before Waverly unfolded her limbs and walked over to her wife, placing her hands loosely around her neck. “I want to go back to Toronto. It makes the most sense. Your home—”

“ _Our_ home.” Nicole corrected.

“Sorry, OUR home is there. Your plane” Nicole shot her a look she corrected herself before arguing, “That doesn’t even make sense. I can’t fly!” Nicole gave her evil eyes and Waverly relented. “Fine! OUR plane is there. And our cars. I want to take the Toronto job.”

“About our home. I think we should sell it.” Nicole looked down, afraid to make eye contact with her wife, who was currently playing with her red hair. 

“What? Why?” Waverly stopped and moved her hand, lifting Nicole’s chin to meet her gaze.

“I think we should start fresh. If we sell both places we should be able to get a decent sized down payment and we can pick out a place together.”

“Are you sure? I know that was your home for forever.”

“You’re my home now. Where you go, I go.” She reached for the hem of Waverly’s shirt, playing with it absentmindedly, her other hand resting on her wife’s hip.

Waverly’s eyes crinkled as she flashed her pearly white teeth in a huge grin. “You’re so cheesy. Why do I keep you around?”

Nicole gave a sly smile as she responded. “If I was to guess? I’d say the sex.”

Waverly moved a hand forward, tracing the collar of Nicole’s shirt suggestively. “That’s a perk. But it’s really for your cat. No one has ever loved me the way that CJ has.”

As they both laughed, Nicole playfully spanked the butt of her wife before she stood up and picked her up. The shorter woman wrapped her legs around Nicole’s torso and stared down into her eyes.

“Toronto?” Nicole asked, more for confirmation than anything else. 

“Toronto.” She said before leaning forward for a kiss.

  
__________

Nicole was standing, flowers in one hand, using her free hand to nervously press down on her white button up, as she stood on the South Lawn of Columbia with Wynonna, Alice, John Henry, and Gus after Waverly’s PhD convocation. As the shorter woman approached and caught a glimpse of her family, she picked up her pace, smiling widely.

Her niece barreled into her first. Nicole smiled as she watched Alice throw her arms around Waverly’s mid-section in a tight grip. She pulled her head back and looked at up into her aunt’s eyes, “Mom says you’re a scriptless doctor now. What does that mean?”

“It means your mom is still mad I didn’t go to medical school.”

Wynonna moved to hug Waverly next, while adding, “Come on, baby girl, we can’t all have exciting high paying careers like myself. Plus, it’d be weird if all of Haughtforteacher over here’s lovers were doctors… oh wait…” 

“Why did we invite her?” Nicole asked as she stepped forward, nudging Wynonna out of the way as she slid her arms around Waverly’s middle and looked into her eyes.

“We didn’t. She just showed up.” Waverly threw a wink back to her sister before looking back up to a grinning Nicole. “What?”

“You did it baby!” Nicole removed her arms around Waverly’s middle as she rubbed up and down her wife’s arms.

She hung her head down shyly as she whispered, “I really did.”

Nicole tilted her chin back up as she lightly squeezed the hand not holding Waverly’s diploma, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on her wife’s lips.

“Get a room.” Hollered Wynonna in the background, right before Gus smacked her in the back of the head and stepped forward, pulling her niece into a tight hug. 

“Shall we go?” Nicole offered to the group after everyone had gotten their turn congratulating Waverly. “Our reservation is in 30.” She moved to grab Alice’s hand and began walking in the direction they needed to go.

“Oh thank God, I’m starving!” Wynonna said as she pushed through the group, leading the way. “Come on, guys. What are you waiting for?”

__________

“Baby?” Nicole called out as she set her bags near the door to their new home, shrugging off her leather jacket and then hanging it in the hall closet before grabbing her bags and moving slowly down the hall.

She had turned on her phone after the flight to a message that had her slightly worried.

> _We need to talk. Dinner tonight?_

They had dinner every night they were both home, usually something thrown together last minute, but it had become an unofficial tradition that any time they had something important to discuss or share that they would go out to dinner for the night.

Slowly walking into their home, she peeked in the living room, mudroom, and kitchen as she walked by. Finding nothing, she headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

She found Waverly sitting on their bed, legs crossed as she absentmindedly stroked the cat next to her while reading a research journal on her MacBook.

She promptly closed it as Nicole walked in. “Hi baby. We missed you,” she said as she smiled and patted at the bed next to her.

Nicole loosened her tie as she walked closer, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her wife, leaning in for a kiss. Moving to cup Nicole’s cheeks, Waverly stopped petting the cat, who promptly gave Nicole evil eyes before jumping off the bed and running off.

“Mmm. You taste minty.” Nicole said, leaning away from the professor as she worked to pull her tie off completely.

She smiled as she moved the laptop from off her lap to Nicole’s empty spot on the bed next to her. “I just brushed my teeth. How was your flight?”

As she stood up to continue taking off the rest of her uniform, Nicole noted that Waverly was avoiding the text she had sent. “Normal. Nothing exciting really. Happy to be home. How were your classes today?”

“Good. I had to use my teacher voice on two kids who wouldn’t stop talking. It’s college, I don’t get it. If you want to chat with each other, just don’t show up.”

Nicole laughed. “I don’t miss those days.” She paused as she removed the last of her attire, now standing in her underwear she asked, “Hey Waves?”

“Yeah babe?” The brunette said from the bed, eyes darting back up to meet Nicole’s eyes when her name was called.

She smiled at her wife’s obvious elevator eyes and then questioned, “Are we going out? I’m only asking because if so, I’m not going to put on my sweats."

“Oh yeah. Is that okay? I’m kind of in the mood for brinner.”

“Of course. You know I’m always game for pancakes.”

She headed for the closet and grabbed for a pair of skinny black jeans, t-shirt, and her converse as Waverly got out of bed and started putting on her shoes.

The drive to the diner was mostly quiet. Nicole drove, hand on Waverly’s thigh, as the brunette kept herself distracted with her phone, occasionally laughing and showing Nicole whatever funny thing she had seen on the screen. After being seated and placing their orders, Nicole looked expectantly at Waverly.

“So, you wanted to talk?” She asked as the waiter set down two waters in front of them.

Waverly took a quick sip, licking her wetted lips before beginning. “You know how you’re approaching a certain age?”

Nicole chuckled at her wife’s politeness. “Yes, we both know I’m old. Please continue.”

She smiled and reached for Nicole’s hand, playing with her wedding ring. “And you know how we both love Alice and have talked about having kids someday?”

Suddenly, Nicole realized exactly where this conversation was heading. Hope and panic simultaneously overtook her chest as she froze in place.

Waverly waited for a moment before prodding at the frozen woman in front of her. “Cole?”

“You can’t be pregnant, I’m on the pill!” She blurted out suddenly, throwing her hands in the air as if she was indicating innocence. Immediately realizing her statement made no sense whatsoever, she shook her head as her cheeks flushed a bright shade of crimson. “I mean, yes?”

“Don’t you dare think you are ever going to live that one down.” Waverly managed to get out in between laughs before she settled down and proceeded, “So, I’ve been thinking. We’ve been married two years and still seem to love each other, we’re settled into our new home, we both have good jobs. I mean, if kids are something we really want, it kind of seems like a good time. What do you think?”

Nicole stared down at her glass for a long while as she thought.

Worried that her wife had changed her mind, Waverly reached for her hand once again. “Hey, I’ll be perfectly fine either way.”

“No,” Nicole said resolutely. “I was just thinking. Is this something you want?”

“Nicole. We aren’t doing this again. This isn’t like when we were picking a place to live. I am not letting you blindly follow me on another—”

“I want it.”

“—crazy adventure.” She finished her sentence as she realized what she had just heard. “Wait, what?”

“I want a baby.” She smiled as she repeated herself.

“Do you promise? Because, like I said, I don’t want you doing this for me.”

“No, I swear to you on my—”

Waverly interrupted mid-sentence.  “If you say ‘Autographed Babysitter’s Club’ Nicole Haught, I swear I will—”

“On my life. I swear to you on my life. I want your babies. Or my babies. Or someone else’s babies. Any way we have them, I want _our_ babies.”

Waverly felt a tear stream down her cheek and was stopped as she went to go wipe it away by Nicole’s hand, which got there first.

“I love you.” Waverly softly said as she turned her cheek into her wife’s palm.

She ran her thumb back and forth across her wife’s cheek as she responded. “I love you too, baby. I’m just excited for whatever comes next.” Her tone was sure, she knew that her life was better because she had met Waverly, and she couldn’t wait to see what else was in store.  

“Me too.” They both stared lovingly, breaking eye contact only to thank the waiter as he deposited their food in front of them.

“I do have a question of my own though.” Nicole said as she went to add ketchup to her hash browns.

Waverly paused mid bite, raising an eyebrow.

“Can we get a puppy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, folks! Hopefully it wasn't the worst.
> 
> I'd refer you to my Tumblr here, but I literally have no idea how to use it. I've mildly figured out Twitter, tho. You can find me @holyshihtzu4 if you ever want to stop by and say hey. It's mostly just gifs of awkward situations in my life, but that's just because my life is 95% awkward.
> 
> Anywho, you guys are amazing. Thanks for everything!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I read this story Dani Kind shared on Twitter today about a woman at the airport having a breakdown and the other women around who stepped up to help. That kind of inspired this story. I know I said I was finished with this, but hopefully you don't mind this addition!

“If you don’t get your ass back here right now we are going home.” Waverly yelled across the overcrowded airport as a tuft of red hair disappeared into the crowd.

Waverly was officially fed up. Her plane to Johannesburg was getting ready to depart, there was still no sign of her wife who was currently on her way via a last-minute flight, and she had been trying unsuccessfully to appease her three young kids in the airport alone for the last two hours.

Nicole had been out on a four-day shift when she got stuck in the middle of a snowstorm in Salt Lake that had grounded planes in all nearby areas for the last three days, leaving Waverly as a single parent. The family was usually stretched a little more thin when Nicole was out on long trips, and things at home definitely were easier for Waverly when she had a strictly researched focused semester, but right now she had just finished a semester teaching three classes and also had three young children vying for her attention at home with Nicole gone.

For the last seven days, she had been up at 5:00 am getting herself and the kids ready every morning, shuffling everyone out the door by 7:30, dropping the girls off at school and her son at daycare, barely making it in time to teach her 8:15 class. She’d then run out after her next class ended at 3:30 and get the girls to daycare with Taylor, and on Wednesday she even had to hurry back to school to teach her night class, stopping after it was over to pick everyone up from Shae and Eliza’s. Her last seven days had been hell and with Jordan disappearing into the crowd just now, she could feel a breakdown coming on.

It didn’t help that the family had been planning this vacation to South Africa for the last year. Their girls were obsessed with all things Animal Planet and Planet Earth, and they thought it would be a nice early Christmas present to take them to see them in the wild. Their flights had been booked for months and when her wife called her and told her that she was stranded in another city, Waverly could feel the stress pressing down upon her. After Waverly had had a mini-breakdown on the phone, the pilot had offered to rent a car and drive down to Phoenix to try and catch a flight out but rentals had been hard to come by with the grounded planes and the ones she could find were ridiculously priced. In the end, Waverly had insisted she could handle everything. When flights from the city had finally commenced operation again, they were all full, with people paying premiums to escape the storm battered city as soon as possible. Nicole had eventually found a flight that got her closer to home, stopping in Minneapolis last night. She had boarded her second flight, one bound directly for Toronto this time, around two hours ago, right about the time Waverly had finished getting her family through security.

Nicole would be cutting this flight incredibly close, as Waverly figured the Haught family would most likely be the last ones to board the plane, but they had decided in a last-minute phone call that, worst case scenario, Waverly would board this flight and head to South Africa without her wife, who would catch up as soon as she could.

As Waverly looked back towards her six-year-old who was clutching a purple crayon and looking up at her in horror, she sighed.

“Mommy, you said a no-no word.” Alex said as she gripped her Lion King coloring book tightly in her lap.

“I know, baby. I’ll put a dollar in the jar when we get home. Can you watch Taylor for me while I go grab your sister?” She looked down at the sleeping two-year-old, ensuring he would not wake up before she began walking away, stopping to look back to her daughter for confirmation. The little girl simply nodded and Waverly took off in the direction of her oldest.

Navigating through the masses, she kept an eye out for her little redhead while weaving through travelers hurrying to their destinations. Waverly wasn’t incredibly worried, the little girl had been in the Toronto airport more times in her young life than she could count to and she basically knew her way around better than Waverly herself, but with the disappearance of her child, she still found herself anxious, now not being able to see any of her three children.

As Waverly stepped to the side, moving away from passersby to look around for a security guard, she could feel tears pooling at her eyes. She couldn’t do this. Not without Nicole, her calming force that so easily handled her kids while simultaneously making her feel so loved. As she finally spotted a security guard nearby, Waverly stepped forward to ask for help. She navigated around an airport employee pushing a garbage can when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Excuse me, Miss. I think you may have lost something,” said a familiar voice.

Waverly whipped around and saw her wife, bag slung over her shoulder, holding the hand of her seven-year-old with one hand and her suitcase with the other. Waverly stared for a moment at her two redheads, both of them smiling so brightly their dimples were cutting into their perfect cheeks, before she broke down sobbing.

As she wept openly in the airport, Nicole dropped her bags and her oldest daughter’s hand and stepped forward, enveloping Waverly in a firm hug.

“What’s wrong, baby?” The pilot said as she stroked her hair.

The couple just stood there embracing for a moment, in the middle of the busy walkway, as Waverly continued to cry. She heard her wife mumble a “don’t even think about it,” which she assumed was meant for the little redhead with a penchant for bolting.

Waverly eventually let go of her wife and stepped back, haphazardly wiping the tears from her eyes before she looked down at her daughter who was mindlessly playing the straps of Nicole’s bag.

“I told you not to run.” She said with a sniffle, voice struggling to take the firm register she used to discipline with.

Nicole’s face scrunched up in displeasure and her gaze dropped to her daughter as she got down on her haunches to look the little girl in the eye. “Jordan, did you disobey your mother?”

The girl looked away and Nicole’s voice took on a firm tone.

“Jordan Wyatt, if you ignore me we are going to stay in the hotel while your mother takes your brother and sister to see the rhinos.”

“But you promised!” The little girl said with a panic to her voice.

“And did you promise me you would be good when I left for work last week?” Waverly took note of the way her wife always knew what to say and do and felt relief start to wash upon her.

Jordan looked down to the floor and mumbled something incoherent.

“What was that?” Nicole questioned.

“I said ‘yes.’ I promised I’d be good.” She knew she was in trouble and she refused to look up at either woman.

Nicole tilted her daughter’s chin up and offered a smile. “And what do you need to say to your mom?”

The little redhead looked up at her with remorse as she said, “I’m sorry mommy.”

Waverly leaned down and hugged her daughter, holding onto her tightly for a moment before saying, “You scared me.”

“I know, but I wanted to go find mom.”

“Well you’re lucky you did, but what if you wouldn’t have found her?” She said as she placed a knee on the ground and reached for her daughter’s hand, moving her thumb back and forth soothingly.

Nicole stood up then and grabbed for her bags as Waverly finished conversing with the little redhead. When she was done, Waverly grabbed her child’s hand and swatted her wife’s behind with her free hand, nudging the woman forward. The pilot just chuckled before she reached out for Waverly’s free hand and followed them to their gate.

“Mom!” The little brunette who had diligently watched her little brother yelled when she spotted Nicole, dropping her coloring book and running through the last passengers boarding the plane.

Waverly felt another tear fall as her six-year-old clutched onto her wife tightly, who had gotten down to hold her daughter.

“We have to go, guys.” Waverly croaked out after the gate agent gave her a curious look, motioning to the clock.

Nicole stood up then, dropping her bags and reaching for her sleeping son, placing him over her shoulder before she reached back down for her bags and asked her daughters, “Ready to go see some animals, ladies?”

Both girls just nodded enthusiastically as they grabbed for their small backpacks, packed with coloring pages, books, toys and an iPad, and headed off in the direction of the jet bridge, with Nicole close behind.

Just like she had thought, they were the last group to board the 747 headed for Johannesburg via Frankfurt. Waverly shoved all of their carryon’s, with a little help from Nicole’s height and free arm not holding the toddler, into the overhead compartments before everyone got settled in their seats. As Waverly turned to look towards her wife who was down a few seats helping her bookend their daughters, she smiled as she watched the woman gently place their sleeping son on her lap before she looked over and began asking the girls about their week. Waverly softened at the sight of her family, now whole again, and acknowledged that every stressful minute of the last seven days had been completely worth it, just so she could see this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes! I hurried and edited it and am literally about to run out the door to a group project meet up at school.
> 
> You are all the best! Thanks for everything!


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